KOLKATA: The BJP on Monday said it would not field a candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha poll in Bengal, paving the way for Trinamool Congress candidate Sushmita Dev to be elected unopposed. Dev filed her nomination for the October 4 polls to the Upper House.
Even before she filed her nomination, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari tweeted on Monday that “BJP will not nominate any candidate for Rajya Sabha bypoll due in West Bengal. Outcome is predetermined”.
“Our focus is to make sure an unelected CM is to be unelected once again,” he added, diverting attention for the time being from the RS bypoll to the Bhowanipore assembly bypoll where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamool candidate.
Adhikari’s tweet drew immediate barbs from Bengal parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee, who urged the former to step out of Twitter to fight poll battles “on the ground”.
As it happened for Jawhar Sircar, Dev too would have a smooth passage to the Rajya Sabha because Trinamool is far ahead of BJP in the Bengal assembly when it comes to a bypoll against a single vacancy. It would hold true for the third RS candidate too.
The ruling Trinamool, under present party representation in the assembly, will continue to enjoy a monopoly in Rajya Sabha seats from the state if the Election Commission announces elections against the single vacancy created due to resignation of candidates.
The poll panel had announced RS elections against the vacancy created after Dinesh Trivedi put in his papers before joining BJP, and then after Manas Bhunia resigned from RS soon after he won the assembly polls and became the water resources management minister. The election to the second vacancy will be held in October. The EC has not announced elections to the third vacancy created after Arpita Ghosh resigned.
Speculations over Babul Supriyo or former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha getting a Trinamool ticket to the Rajya Sabha have been rife after Arpita Ghosh resigned to spend more time in organizational work.
Speaking after filing her nomination, Dev said her first target was the 2023 Tripura assembly polls. “For now, the Tripura assembly polls come first. So, this is my first target,” she said.
Dev will leave for Tripura on Tuesday, ahead of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s public rally in Agartala. She said: “People in Tripura believe in Mamata Banerjee. This has been further bolstered by my nomination to Parliament. This is linked to Tripura. We are ready for the battle for Tripura.”
