After Trinamool cites rules, Swapan Dasgupta resigns from Rajya Sabha to fight Bengal polls

Swapan Dasgupta, a BJP candidate for the Bengal election, has resigned from the Rajya Sabha a day after the Trinamool Congress cited constitutional rules to say a nominated member of the Upper House could not join a political party. Dasgupta has been fielded by the BJP from the Tarakeshwar Assembly constituency in Hooghly district.

According to sources, Dasgupta, a nominated member of Rajya Sabha, has said his resignation should be taken into cognisance from Wednesday.

If a nominated member in the Rajya Sabha decides to take part in any political activity of a particular party, he would have to resign from the membership, sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said.

With the BJP declaring Dasgupta as a candidate, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra Monday called for his disqualification from the Upper House in accordance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Moitra pointed out that the rules were clear that a nominated MP, considered to be unaffiliated to any party, could be disqualified if he joined a party. “A nominated member of a House shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he takes his seat after complying with the requirements of article 99, or, as the case may be, article 188,” Clause 3 of the Tenth Schedule that deals with the disqualification grounds states.

Following up on my previous tweet – Rajya Sabha website as of today says Swapan Dasgupta is nominated & not formally BJP. If he files nomination as @BJP candidate he should be disqualified according to the Constitution’s 10th Schedule (Para 2 (3)) pic.twitter.com/b0RdQ0Rpxv

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 15, 2021

On Monday, Dasgupta had said he would respond to the TMC’s charge “appropriately’. “Right now, I am busy with election campaigning. If any letter comes to me from Rajya Sabha, then I will respond to it appropriately,” Dasgupta had said.

Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be conducted in eight phases between March 27 and April 29. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.