3 new faces, including Saket Gokhale, among 6 named by TMC for RS polls

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday announced the names of six candidates, including party spokesperson Derek O’Brien, for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections scheduled to be held on July 24.

The party is retaining three old-timers but has picked three fresh faces for the seven Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant next month in Bengal.

The other candidates are Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Saket Gokhale, Samirul Islam and Prakash Chik Baraik. The newcomers on the list are Bangla Sanskriti Mancha president Samirul Islam, Trinamool’s Alipurduar district president Prakash Chik Baraik and RTI activist and TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale.

The Election Commission (EC) announced polls for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal. Among the announced candidates, Derek O’Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Dola Sen are sitting MPs. Derek O’Brien has been an MP since 2011. He is TMC’s leader in Rajya Sabha while Ray, who was first sent to the Upper House of Parliament in 2012, is the deputy chief whip. Dola Sen, a senior leader and trade unionist, became an MP in 2017.

“We take great pleasure in announcing the candidatures of Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar, Samirul Islam, Prakash Chik Baraik and Saket Gokhale for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections,” Trinamool Congress tweeted. It further stated: “May they persist in their dedication to serving the people and uphold Trinamool’s enduring legacy of indomitable spirit and advocacy for the rights of every Indian. We extend our heartfelt wishes to all.”

Besides Derek O’Brien, Ray and Sen, the tenures of Trinamool Congress’ Assam leader Sushmita Dev and its Darjeeling leader Shanta Chhetri are also nearing an end. The tenure of Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharya also ended following which six seats from Bengal fell vacant.

A seventh Rajya Sabha seat from Bengal became vacant after former Goa Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro resigned as a TMC MP in April. A bypoll will be held for the seat along with the elections to these six seats on July 24.

Gokhale in his Twitter handle stated: “I’m extremely grateful to my leaders @MamataOfficial & @abhishekaitc for fielding me as a candidate for election as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. I’m overwhelmed by their faith in me & for giving this opportunity to a young middle-class boy who comes from a non-political background.”

He went on to add: “I promise to give my all & everything to be an effective public representative & lawmaker & to stand up steadfastly for our democracy & Constitution.”

Samirul Islam said he was delighted to be considered as a TMC candidate for the Rajya Sabha. His outfit, Bangla Sanskriti Mancha, enjoys huge support among rural Bengal communities, especially the minorities in the districts of Birbhum, Murshidabad, Malda, East and West Burdwan and Hooghly.

In choosing Alipurduar district president Prakash Chik Baraik – also a member of the Scheduled Tribe community — the party has signalled that North Bengal remains under focus, felt experts. Baraik helped TMC gain ground in the 2021 polls from the upper district, which is a BJP bastion.