Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Jul 9: Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha members Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata on Thursday.
The three leaders were inducted into the party in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya at the party's state headquarters in Salt Lake.
Welcoming the former MPs, Bhattacharya presented them with BJP flags during a programme attended by senior state leaders.
Dev, Ray and Baraik had resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the Trinamool Congress last month following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Ray and Baraik's terms in the Upper House were scheduled to continue until September 2029, while Dev's tenure was due to end in April 2030.
The by-elections to the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled to be held on July 24.
Bhattacharya said the induction of the three former parliamentarians would further strengthen the BJP in West Bengal.
Following the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the 294-member Assembly with 208 seats, while the TMC secured 80 seats. The Congress and the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) won two seats each, while the CPI(M) and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) secured one seat each.
Subsequent resignations reduced the BJP's strength to 207 and the AJUP's tally to one, while the opposition's combined strength stood at 85 legislators.
Ordinarily, the opposition would have had sufficient numbers to secure one of the three Rajya Sabha seats, with the BJP expected to win the remaining two.
However, the political equations changed after the Trinamool Congress split into rival factions led by former chief minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee.
According to the current political alignment, around 65 MLAs are with the Ritabrata Banerjee faction, while about 15 legislators continue to support the Mamata Banerjee camp.
Under the electoral formula for the three-seat Rajya Sabha bypoll, a candidate requires around 70 first-preference votes to secure election. With 207 MLAs, the BJP has the numbers to field three candidates competitively, while neither TMC faction has sufficient strength on its own to elect a candidate.
Political observers said the split in the opposition has significantly altered the electoral arithmetic, potentially enabling the BJP to target all three Rajya Sabha seats.