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The seven candidates — six from the Trinamool Congress and one from the Bharatiya Janata Party — were elected unopposed in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Six Rajya Sabha seats from the state were scheduled to go to the polls on July 24 as MPs’ terms were due to end in August. A by-election, which necessitated the resignation of former Goa chief minister Luizinho Valero as deputy of the TMC in April, was also scheduled to take place on the same day.
Among those from TMC who were elected to the Rajya Sabha on Monday were Derek O’Brien, Sukhendo Sekhar Rai and Dola Sen. The chief whip. Doula Sen, a senior TMC and trade unionist leader, became an MP in 2017.
The three newcomers on the TMC list were Bengali-Sanskrit Chief of Mancha Sameer Islam, Alipurduar district unit chief and tribal leader Prakash Chek Paraik and RTI activist and junta spokesperson Saket Gokhale.
Gokhale is elected in bypoll and hence his term will be limited.
Meanwhile, Ananta Rai ‘Maharaj’ became the first BJP elected member of the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. The Rajbanshi community leader heads a faction of the Greater Cooch Behar Peoples Association (GCPA), which has been laying claim to a separate Cooch Behar state that includes parts of North Bengal.
The TMC includes 216 members of the 294-member assembly and has the support of five BJP lawmakers, who have switched to the ruling party but have not yet resigned from the House of Representatives. The Bharatiya Janata Party has 70 MPs in parliament.
According to the figure, out of the six seats whose term will expire, the TMC was supposed to get five, and the BJP one. Gokhale is elected to the bypoll.
With the exception of Derek O’Brien, who accompanied Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Bengaluru for the opposition parties’ meeting, all six candidates were present at the assembly to take their victory certificates.
After his election, junta leader Sukhendo Sekhar Rai attacked the BJP government in the centre. “We are fighting against the way the conspiracy to kill Bengalis is going on… We will again protest against depriving Bengalis of status,” Ray said.
Activist Smirol said, “This central government is not doing any work for rural community development. I have fought for the rights of tribes, minorities, and migrant workers before. I will join the Rajya Sabha and fight for their rights.”
Meanwhile, Gokhale said he will try to ensure that debates and debates are held in Parliament. “The most important thing in parliament is debate. We aim to ensure that there is proper debate on all bills, not just bills that are passed through voice vote,” Gokhale said.
But Ananta Maharaj, who was supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party, did not say anything. “Whatever I want to say, I will say it in the Rajya Sabha. I can only say that I will not disappoint my party,” said Ananta Maharaj.
– with PTI
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