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Bengal Rajya Sabha Polls: Trinamool, Congress Win Unopposed As CPI-M Nominee Disqualified
West Bengal\'s ruling Trinamool Congress bagged five Rajya Sabha seats, and Congress won one unopposed after the nomination of CPI-M candidate Bikash Bhattacharya was rejected on Monday.
West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress bagged five Rajya Sabha seats, and Congress won one unopposed after the nomination of CPI-M candidate Bikash Bhattacharya was rejected on Monday.
After much drama, the election authorities declared invalid Bhattacharya's nomination, on the ground that an additional affidavit was submitted only after the 3 pm deadline on July 28 - the last date for filing of papers for the August 8 polls for the six seats.
With Left Front-backed Mr Bhattacharya out of the race, all the six remaining candidates were declared uncontested after the expiry of the 3 pm deadline for the withdrawal of candidatures on Monday.
It will be the second upper house term for Trinamool leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien, and two other sitting members Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Dola Sen.
The maiden entrants into parliament are Trinamool's Manas Bhunia and Santa Chhetri.
Former state minister Bhunia, who switched over to the Trinamool from the Congress last September, resigned recently from his assembly seat Sabong in West Midnapore district.
Chhetri is a three-time Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) legislator from Kurseong in the northern Bengal's Darjeeling hills.
It will also be the second six-year Rajya Sabha stint for Congress' Pradip Bhattacharya.
An angry Left Front legislature party leader Sujan Chakraborty termed the election authorities' decision to reject his candidate's nomination a "big conspiracy" and said they were consulting their lawyers.
"It was pre-decided it will be cancelled. Trinamool was rattled by Bikash Bhattacharya's candidature... That it took them 48 hours to take the decision proves there was a lot of merit in our arguments.
"This is unprecedented and we have become a victim of a big conspiracy. We are consulting our lawyers. We must fight upto the last," said Mr Chakraborty, who is also the state secretariat member of LF major Communist Party of India-Marxist.
The Trinamool, however, said it had nothing to do with the process, and the nomination was rejected by the Election Commission in accordance with existing laws.
"They were given a chance of hearing in accordance with the Representation of the People Act. The returning officer was also present during the hearing and discussed the matter with everyone. Then CPI-M's Rajya Sabha candidate's nomination was declared as invalid by the Election Commission as it was not submitted within the stipulated time," said Trinamool Secretary General Partha Chatterjee.
"How is Trinamool Congress involved in this?" he asked.
