Sushmita Dev among TMC candidates for Rajya Sabha polls
Guwahati: Sushmita Dev, former president of the Congress' women's wing and ex-Lok Sabha member, secured a nomination from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, offering her a potential route back to the Upper House of Parliament.
Dev, who joined the TMC in 2021, is among the four candidates announced by the party on Sunday.
Joining Dev are journalist Sagarika Ghose, Dalit Matua community leader Mamata Bala Thakur, and current Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque.
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Ghose, known for her biographies of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was personally chosen by the TMC leadership.
Dev served as a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal in 2021 after being nominated by the TMC.
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However, she stepped down in August 2023 to make way for social activist Samirul Haque.
The TMC currently holds 14 of the 16 Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal, and with these nominations, they aim to maintain their dominance in the upcoming elections scheduled for February 27.
Elections will be held for 56 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states.
Five seats from West Bengal will fall vacant in April, including the one currently held by Dev.
The other four seats are occupied by current TMC members Haque, Subhashis Chakraborty, Abir Biswas, and Dr Santanu Sen.
The fifth seat, currently held by Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who won it in 2018 with TMC support, is likely to be targeted by the BJP, which holds 75 seats in the West Bengal assembly.