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Former Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar wins Bengal Rajya Sabha seat unopposed
The seat was left vacant after TMC lawmaker Dinesh Trivedi joined the BJP before the West Bengal assembly elections held in March and April.
Former chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati, Jawhar Sircar, on Monday won the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Bengal without any contest.
Bengal assembly speaker Biman Banerjee gave Sircar the certificate in the afternoon. There was no election as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the only opposition party in the state with 75 legislators against 213 of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), did not field any candidate.
Rajya Sabha members are elected by legislators.
The seat was left vacant after TMC lawmaker Dinesh Trivedi joined the BJP before the West Bengal assembly elections held in March and April.
On July 24, the TMC nominated Sircar to the Upper House of Parliament.
Sircar spent nearly 42 years in public service and is known as a vocal critic of the BJP government at the Centre.
“The entire process was a surprise for me. Till a week ago, I was only a retired bureaucrat. This has given me an opportunity to express my views,” Sircar told HT on Monday evening.
After joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1975, Sircar made a name for himself as an officer of the West Bengal cadre. He served in various posts, including that of the chief electoral officer.
Sircar left Bengal to join the Union ministry of culture as the secretary, a post he served till 2012. He later became the CEO of India’s public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, where he served till 2016.
Bengal BJP’s chief spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “Sircar has been rewarded by the TMC for his mindless opposition to all policies of the BJP government. He has done nothing else in recent years.”
