Bengal: TMC’s Sagarika Ghose, Sushmita Dev Among Newly-Elected Rajya Sabha MPs

The Trinamool Congress's women leaders took their seats in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, and the party said they are ready to fight the "BJP zamindars".

After the Trinamool Congress's women leaders took their seats as Rajya Sabha members, the party on Tuesday said that they are ready to take on the fight against the "BJP zamindars". In an X post (formerly Twitter), the party said, "Embracing a strong women-centric ethos, our Rajya Sabha MPs are ready to take on the fight against the BJP zamindars and work towards reviving the essence of a diverse, multi-religious, multi-caste, multi-linguistic, and inclusive India". 

In a surprising move, the Mamata-led party had nominated Delhi-based journalist Sagarika Ghose as one of its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections from West Bengal. The other candidates were Sushmita Dev, Mohammad Nadimul Haque, and Matua leader Mamata Bala Thakur.

Five MPs' terms ended, leaving seats vacant. They are Trinamool Congress members Mohammed Nadimul Haque, Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Ranjan Biswas, and Santanu Sen, as well as Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal with the support of the Trinamool Congress.

The Trinamool had renominated Haque, the owner of the popular Urdu newspaper Akbar-E-Mashriq.

All Six Bihar Candidates For Rajya Sabha Declared Elected Unopposed: 

Earlier in the day, all six Bihar Rajya Sabha candidates, three from the BJP-led NDA and three from the opposition INDIA bloc, were declared unopposed for the Upper House of Parliament.

The Vidhan Sabha secretariat presented certificates to JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, as well as BJP allies Dharmshila Gupta and Bhim Singh.

Certificates were also distributed to RJD leaders Manoj Kumar Jha and Sanjay Yadav, as well as Congressman Akhilesh Prasad Singh.

While Manoj Kumar Jha and Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who heads the state Congress unit, will serve second consecutive terms, the remaining four will make their parliamentary debuts.

The biennial elections were held for seats whose terms would end next month. The JD(U), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, held two of them, while one was shared with the BJP, its alliance partner.

However, as the JD(U)'s strength in the assembly decreased and the BJP's tally increased, the two parties adjusted their respective shares.