All 7 candidates — 6 from TMC, 1 BJP — elected unopposed to RS

Among those from TMC who got elected to Rajya Sabha on Monday were Derek O’Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Dola Sen. O’Brien, who has been an MP since 2011, is the TMC’s leader in Rajya Sabha, while Ray is the deputy chief whip. Dola Sen, a senior TMC leader and trade unionist, became an MP in 2017.

The three newcomers on the TMC list were Bangla Sanskriti Mancha president Samirul Islam, TMC’s Alipurduar district unit president and tribal leader Prakash Chik Baraik, and RTI activist and TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale.

Gokhale has been elected in the bypoll and therefore his term will be a limited one.
Meanwhile, Ananta Rai ‘Maharaj’ became the BJP’s first 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 demanding a separate Cooch Behar state comprising parts of north Bengal.

The TMC has 216 MLAs in the 294-member Assembly and enjoys the support of five BJP legislators, who switched over to the ruling party but are yet to resign from the House. The BJP has 70 lawmakers in the Assembly.

According to the number, out of the six seats whose tenure is going to expire, the TMC was supposed to get five, and the BJP one. Gokhale got elected in the bypoll.

Barring Derek O’Brien, who accompanied Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Bengaluru to participate in the Opposition parties’ meeting, all the six elected candidates were present in the Assembly to take their victory certificates.

After getting elected, TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray hit out at the BJP government at the Centre. “We are fighting against the way in which conspiracy to kill Bengal is going on… we will once again protest against the continuous deprivation of Bengal by the Centre,” Ray said.

Activist Samirul said, “This Central government is not doing any work for the development of rural society. I have fought for the rights of tribals, minorities and migrant workers before. I will join Rajya Sabha and fight for their rights.”

Meanwhile, Gokhale said that he would try to ensure that debates and discussions are held in Parliament. “The most important matter in Parliament is debate. We aim to ensure that there is a proper debate on all the Bills, and not just Bills being passed through a voice vote,” Gokhale said.
Ananta Maharaj, who was backed by the BJP, however, did not say anything. “Whatever I want to say, I will say in Rajya Sabha. I can only say that I will not disappoint my party,” Ananta Maharaj said.

— With PTI