The BJP is set to finalize its lone candidate for the Rajya Sabha nomination from West Bengal by the first week of March. Five seats in the Upper House of the Parliament from West Bengal will be vacant by the end of April this year. According to the numerical strength equation in the West Bengal Assembly, the Trinamool Congress is expected to secure four out of the five vacant seats, leaving one for the BJP.
Insiders from the BJP’s West Bengal unit have revealed that three names are under consideration for the nomination. These include megastar Mithun Chakraborty, former Lok Sabha member and actress-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee, and the current BJP legislator from Balurghat Assembly constituency, Dr. Ashok Kumar Lahiri. Chakraborty, who was previously a Rajya Sabha member from the Trinamool Congress, resigned before completing his term due to links with chit fund cases.
Locket Chatterjee, who lost to a Trinamool Congress candidate in the 2024 elections, and Dr. Ashok Kumar Lahiri, who successfully contested in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, are also being considered. The terms of three sitting Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha members are ending in April this year, along with a CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member. With the BJP’s strength in the West Bengal Assembly, they are expected to secure their lone candidate’s election from the CPI(M) seat.
