TMC summons all MLAs for nominations as 5 Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs

Preparations for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections have gathered pace, with the Trinamool Congress issuing a whip directing all its MLAs to remain present in the Assembly on Thursday and Friday to complete nomination formalities. The move is aimed at ensuring that party legislators are available to sign nomination papers as proposers for candidates contesting the five seats that are falling vacant from the state.

The nomination process is scheduled to begin on February 26 as per the notification issued by the Election Commission of India. With the Upper House elections taking place just ahead of the Assembly polls, the ruling party leadership is taking no chances in securing its numerical advantage in the House.

Going by the current political arithmetic in the Assembly, four of the five seats are expected to go to the All India Trinamool Congress, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to secure one seat based on its strength. However, if a sixth candidate enters the fray as an independent or under any alternative arrangement, voting could take place on March 16.

To prevent any possibility of cross-voting or procedural lapses, the Trinamool legislative party has instructed its MLAs to be present during the nomination process. Of the five seats, three are currently held by Subrata Bakshi, Saket Gokhale and Ritabrata Banerjee, whose terms are ending. One seat has been vacant since the resignation of Mausam Noor, while the term of senior Left Front leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya is also concluding.

Party leaders indicated that formal announcements of candidates will be made shortly. The Trinamool leadership is keen to ensure that nominations for its four candidates are filed well before the March 5 deadline, signalling unity and preparedness in the run-up to both the Rajya Sabha and Assembly elections.