(L-R) Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Banerjee, and Mausam Noor. Banerjee has nominated Ghosh and Noor to the West Bengal Rajya Sabha polls to be held on March 26.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday announced the names of four candidates for upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, with two of them being women. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo named Arpita Ghosh, Mausam Noor, Dinesh Trivedi, and Subrata Bakshi as party nominees for the March 26 polls.
In a tweet on International Women’s Day, Mamata Banerjee said as part of her “constant endeavour” towards women’s empowerment, she was proud that half of the TMC nominees were women.
“I am glad to announce that @AITCofficial will be nominating Arpita Ghosh, Mausam Noor, Dinesh Trivedi and Subrata Bakshi to the Rajya Sabha. As a part of my constant endeavour towards woman empowerment, I am proud that half of our nominations are women,” Banerjee tweeted, using #InternationalWomensDay to signify her inspiration behind nominating two women leaders.
I am glad to announce that @AITCofficial will be nominating Arpita Ghosh,
Mausam Noor, Dinesh Trivedi & Subrata Bakshi to the Rajya Sabha.
As a part of my constant endeavour towards woman empowerment, I am proud that half of our nominations are women #InternationalWomensDay— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) March 8, 2020
Both Noor and Ghosh had contested the Lok Sabha polls last year but failed to win from their respective constituencies. While Noor lost from the Malda Uttar seat, Ghosh had unsuccessfully contested from Balurghat.
Rajya Sabha polls to the five seats of West Bengal will be held on March 26.
According to the distribution of seats in the West Bengal Assembly, the ruling TMC will get four seats to the Rajya Sabha, whereas a joint candidate of either the CPI(M)-Congress or the TMC-Congress may bag the fifth one. The BJP is not in the fray as it has only 8 MLAs.
Earlier, the Congress had taken the TMC’s support for the elections of their candidates Pradip Bhattacharya and Abhishek Manu Singhvi to the Rajya Sabha. This time, the Congress is willing to support the CPI(M) if the latter wants to send its general secretary Sitaram Yechury to the Upper House. However, the CPI(M) is yet to clarify its stance over Yechury’s candidature.
The fifth seat was held by CPI(M)’s Ritabrata Bandopadhyay, who was expelled from the party in 2017. Since his expulsion and post-2019 Lok Sabha polls, the CPI(M)’s West Bengal unit does not have any representation either in the Lok Sabha or in the Rajya Sabha. It is the first time in the party’s history since its inception in 1964.