Bengal Rajya Sabha bypolls: 3 BJP nominees file papers for July 24 vote
Synopsis
Three former TMC Rajya Sabha members who defected to the BJP on 9 July have now filed nomination papers for the 24 July West Bengal bypolls. With 208 MLAs in the Assembly and the TMC split between two rival factions, the BJP is near-certain to sweep all three seats — a significant Upper House gain that underscores the ruling party's eroding grip on its own legislators.
Key Takeaways
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy , Sushmita Dev , and Prakash Chik Baraik filed BJP nomination papers on 13 July for three West Bengal Rajya Sabha bypolls.
Polling is scheduled for 24 July ; all three were previously Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha members who resigned before completing their terms.
The BJP holds 208 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly; defeating a BJP nominee would require at least 70 opposition votes .
Of TMC's 80 legislators , 60 are aligned with the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee , leaving only 20 loyal to Mamata Banerjee .
BJP's West Bengal unit president Samik Bhattacharya defended the inductions as an exceptional case, citing the trio's clean records.
Three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates — Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik — filed their nomination papers on Monday, 13 July for the bypolls to three vacant Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal, with polling scheduled for 24 July. All three were until recently sitting Trinamool Congress (TMC) members of the Upper House who resigned before completing their terms, triggering the bypolls.
How the Nominations Unfolded
The three leaders formally joined the BJP on the afternoon of 9 July, and within hours the party announced their candidacies for the Rajya Sabha bypolls. On Monday, they submitted their nomination papers before the Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly in the presence of Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and BJP's West Bengal unit president and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya, among other party leaders.
Numbers That Make BJP Favourites
Based on the current numerical strength in the West Bengal Assembly, the BJP nominees are widely expected to win all three seats. The party presently holds 208 MLAs in the Assembly. To defeat any one BJP nominee, an opposition candidate would require at least 70 votes — a threshold that appears difficult to cross given the fractured state of the opposition.
TMC's Internal Split Complicates the Picture
Though the Trinamool Congress officially holds 80 legislators in the Assembly, the bloc is deeply divided. Roughly 60 of those MLAs are aligned with the 'rebel but majority' faction led by expelled party legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, while the remaining 20 continue to owe allegiance to Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee. This internal schism significantly weakens the TMC's ability to mount a coordinated challenge.
Backlash From BJP Old Guard
The induction of Roy, Dev, and Baraik drew criticism from some long-standing BJP members in West Bengal, who argued it contradicted the party leadership's earlier stated position that no one from the Trinamool Congress would be permitted to join the BJP. Bhattacharya moved swiftly to address the dissent, describing the three inductees as an exceptional case. He emphasised that all three had clean public records with no allegations of corruption during their time in the TMC.
What Happens Next
With polling set for 24 July, the BJP is on course to add three more members to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. The outcome will also serve as an early test of whether TMC's internal fracture deepens or stabilises ahead of future electoral contests in the state.
Point of View
And the BJP's willingness to set aside its own anti-defection rhetoric when electoral arithmetic is favourable. The TMC's split — with 60 of its 80 MLAs reportedly in a rebel camp — is the more consequential story here. If that fracture holds through the vote, it signals that Mamata Banerjee's organisational grip in West Bengal is more fragile than her 2021 landslide suggested. The BJP's old guard dissent over the inductions is a secondary but real tension: the party's stated principle of keeping TMC defectors out has now been publicly overridden, and that precedent will be tested again.
NationPress
13 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the three BJP candidates for the West Bengal Rajya Sabha bypolls?
The three BJP candidates are Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik. All three were previously Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha members who resigned from the Upper House before completing their terms, prompting the bypolls.
When is the West Bengal Rajya Sabha bypoll scheduled?
The bypolls for three vacant West Bengal Rajya Sabha seats are scheduled for 24 July. The three candidates filed their nomination papers on 13 July.
Why is the BJP expected to win all three Rajya Sabha seats?
The BJP currently holds 208 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly. To defeat any single BJP nominee, an opposition candidate would need at least 70 votes — a threshold that appears out of reach given the TMC's internal split between a 60-MLA rebel faction and a 20-MLA loyalist bloc.
Why is the Trinamool Congress divided ahead of the bypoll?
The TMC's 80 Assembly members are split into two factions: 60 are aligned with a rebel grouping led by expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, while 20 remain loyal to Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. This division severely limits the party's ability to field an effective opposition candidate.
Why did some BJP members criticise the induction of the three former TMC leaders?
Long-standing BJP members in West Bengal argued that inducting Roy, Dev, and Baraik contradicted the party's earlier position that no Trinamool Congress member would be allowed to join the BJP. West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya responded by calling the move an exceptional case, citing the trio's clean records and absence of corruption allegations during their TMC tenure.
