Three former members of the Trinamool Congress, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after resigning from the Rajya Sabha, have been selected by the BJP as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypolls. The three members, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik, were welcomed into the BJP by the party’s West Bengal president and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya.
The BJP officially announced the candidature of Roy, Dev, and Baraik for the bypolls in a press statement issued on Thursday night. However, Bhattacharya emphasized that their entry into the BJP should be seen as a unique circumstance. The bypolls for the vacant Rajya Sabha seats are set to take place on July 24, with the BJP candidates expected to secure victory in all three seats.
Roy was the first to resign from the Rajya Sabha in June, followed by Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik. Baraik praised West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari after his resignation, while Dev, a politician from Assam, met with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Delhi. Roy had been critical of the Trinamool Congress leadership even before the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, eventually leading to his resignation from the party and the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP, with a significant majority in the West Bengal Assembly, is expected to secure all three Rajya Sabha seats. The party currently holds 208 MLAs in the Assembly, making it challenging for opposition candidates to defeat BJP nominees. Despite the Trinamool Congress officially having 80 legislators, a majority of them are part of a faction led by expelled party member Ritabrata Banerjee, while the rest remain loyal to Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.
