The Trinamool Congress on Friday decided to the support an Independent candidate for the fifth Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal.
Minutes before the nomination process was about to end, Dinesh Bajaj, a former Trinamool Congress MLA and a prominent businessman filed his nomination for the elections. The Left parties and the Congress have fielded Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya for the post.
Going by the present numbers of MLAs, West Bengal’s ruling party can easily get the desired support for four of its nominees. The Left and Congress are likely to ensure the victory of their lone candidate. However, over the past few years, there have been a number of defections from the ranks of the Opposition, when the MLAs have switched loyalties to join the ruling party.
Earlier in the day, two Trinamool nominees Mausam Benazir Noor and Arpita Ghosh filed their nomination papers. Two other Trinamool candidates Dinesh Trivedi and Subrata Bakshi and the Left-Congress nominee Mr. Bhattacharya filed their papers earlier this week. Elections are scheduled on March 26.
