Swapan Dasgupta Resigns As Rajya Sabha MP Amid Row Over His Name As BJP Candidate In Bengal Polls

Dasgupta's resignation has come hours after TMC MP Mahua Moitra raised objections to his nomination as candidate for assembly poll from BJP. Citing the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, the TMC MP said that Dasgupta could be disqualified for filing nomination as a BJP candidate.

Image: Swapan Dasgupta (@swapan55/Twitter)

Swapan Dasgupta on Tuesday resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP after the Trinamool Congress raised questions over his continuation as Rajya Sabha Member after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded him as a party candidate for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections scheduled later this month.

"I have resigned from the Rajya Sabha today to commit myself totally to the fight for a better Bengal. I hope to file my nomination as BJP candidate for the Tarakeshwar Assembly seat in the next few days," BJP leader dasgupta said. 

According to the reports, Dasgupta has send his resignation to the Chairman of House, Vice President Venkaiah Nadu. It remains unknown if the resignation has been accepted.

The saffron party BJP has fielded Swapan Dasgupta from Tarakeshwar Assembly constituency in West Bengal. He is considered to be one of its prominent faces in the state and now that Dasgupta will contest on the BJP ticket, the election politics continues to heat up with polls just few days away.

Dasgupta's resignation has come hours after TMC MP Mahua Moitra raised objections to his nomination as candidate for assembly poll from BJP. Citing the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, the TMC MP said that Dasgupta could be disqualified for filing nomination as a BJP candidate.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Swapan Dasgupta is BJP candidate for WB polls. <br>10th Schedule of Constitution says nominated RS member to be disqualified if he joins any political party AFTER expiry of 6 months from oath.<br>He was sworn in April 2016, remains unallied. <br>Must be disqualified NOW for joining BJP. <a href="https://t.co/d3CDc9dNCe" rel='nofollow'>pic.twitter.com/d3CDc9dNCe</a></p>&mdash; Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) <a href="https://twitter.com/MahuaMoitra/status/1371476682792701953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>March 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Taking to her official account, Moitra in a Tweet said, "Swapan Dasgupta is BJP candidate for WB polls. 10th Schedule of Constitution says nominated RS member to be disqualified if he joins any political party AFTER expiry of 6 months from oath. He was sworn in April 2016, remains unallied. Must be disqualified NOW for joining BJP."

Not only the Trinamool Congress, but the Indian National Congress  party also raised the questions on the same seeking clarification from the Rajya Sabha chairman about the nominated MP's status.