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Rajya Sabha elections: TMC set to win 4 Bengal seats, BJP to secure one
In the 294-member assembly, the TMC with an effective strength of 218 legislators sits comfortably to send four lawmakers to the Rajya Sabha
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is set to win four of the five Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal that will go to biennial polls on March 16, just ahead of the crucial assembly elections in the eastern state, while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to secure one seat.
After the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the biennial elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, including five from West Bengal, speculations grew over the choices of candidates from the two parties.
While terms of TMC’s Subrata Bakshi, Ritabrata Banerjee and Saket Gokhale and CPI(M)’s Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya will end on April 2, the fifth seat fell vacant after the resignation of Mausam Noor last month when she switched back to the Congress from the TMC.
In the 294-member assembly, the TMC with an effective strength of 218 legislators sits comfortably to send four lawmakers to the Rajya Sabha, while the BJP, with its tally coming down from 77 seats won in the 2021 Assembly polls to around 65 because of resignations, defections and deaths, will easily win the remaining seat. The Congress and CPI(M), having faced back-to-back rout in the assembly polls, are out of the biennial polls race.
For the Left, the upcoming polls will end their representation in the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal, in a first since 1952.
A senior TMC functionary, requesting anonymity, said Subrata Bakshi may not get a second term in the Upper House due to his advanced age and health issues.
“Gokhale and Banerjee, who were elected in 2023 and 2024, respectively have not completed their six-year term, and they may be asked to continue as both are performing well,” the functionary said, adding that the final decision will be taken by party supremo Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
“As far as Noor’s empty seat goes, the party may send a Muslim candidate to join two other RS members from the community — Nadimul Haque and Samirul Islam,” a second TMC leader said, also declining to be named.
On the other hand, the BJP, which currently has two members in the Rajya Sabha, may send a celebrity to the Upper House from the state.
“Actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty could be a probable candidate in the run-up to the state polls,” a Bengal BJP leader said, requesting anonymity.
“The decision will be taken entirely by the central leadership in Delhi.”
The ruling BJP in Odisha is set to win two seats in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections and the opposition BJD is certain to bag one, while political manoeuvring will begin for the fourth seat where no single party has the numbers to secure victory on its own.
Four seats in the Upper House from Odisha will fall vacant on April 2.In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the ruling BJP has 79 MLAs and the support of three Independents. The opposition BJD’s strength stands at 48 after the suspension of two of its legislators last month. The Congress has 14 MLAs, while the CPI(M) has one member.
