Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal on Friday as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates.
The three newly elected MPs received their certificates from the Returning Officer after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Friday with no other candidates remaining in the fray. Their nomination papers had been cleared during scrutiny on July 15.
Roy, Dev and Baraik were named as the BJP's Rajya Sabha candidates from West Bengal on July 9, just hours after joining the party in Kolkata.
The trio had resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the Trinamool Congress in the wake of the party's poor performance in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Their switch to the BJP marked a significant political setback for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party, with all three now returning to the Upper House on BJP tickets.
Rebellion against TMC
Their election to the Rajya Sabha comes following a deepening turmoil within the TMC following its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
Internal dissent gathered momentum after Ritabrata Banerjee became the Leader of the Opposition with the backing of 57 MLAs. The rebellion soon spread to both Houses of Parliament, prompting several TMC leaders to resign from the party and extend support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Among those who crossed over were Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Prakash Chik Baraik. After quitting the TMC, Dev refrained from criticising party chief Mamata Banerjee but said she did not want to "be part of two boats at the same time," indicating that she wanted to avoid divided political loyalties.
The bypolls were necessitated after the three resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the Trinamool Congress last month following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, creating vacancies in the three Upper House seats.
Their unopposed election marks another political setback for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, with all three returning to the Rajya Sabha within weeks of quitting the party, this time as BJP members.
Roy, who had represented the TMC in the Rajya Sabha since 2012, was widely regarded as one of the party's key legal and parliamentary strategists. His differences with the party leadership became public after the RG Kar rape and murder case, when he sought accountability from his own party, drawing criticism from within the TMC.
Also read: TMC MP Koel Mallick resigns from Rajya Sabha in fresh jolt to Mamata Banerjee
