Three former TMC Rajya Sabha MPs, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik, were named as the BJP’s candidates for the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal on Thursday, barely hours after they joined the party.
The BJP’s central election committee announced their candidature for the three Rajya Sabha by-elections triggered by their resignations from the Upper House. The notification was signed by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh.
Earlier in the day, the three leaders were formally inducted into the BJP at the party’s state headquarters in Kolkata’s Salt Lake by state president Shamik Bhattacharya.
The induction is significant, as it is the BJP’s first decision to admit former TMC leaders into the party fold since it came to power in the state.
The induction is significant as it is the BJP’s first decision to admit former TMC leaders into the party fold since coming to power in the state in May.
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The three leaders, who had resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the TMC after the BJP’s victory, were formally inducted at the BJP’s state headquarters in Kolkata’s Salt Lake by state president Samik Bhattacharya.
BJP explains why inducting the former TMC leaders an exception
Bhattacharya described the induction as an “exception” rather than a change in policy.
He reiterated that the BJP would not admit leaders accused of corruption or linked to political syndicates. However, he said the party had always been willing to welcome those who had maintained a clean public record.
“Our appeal was always to those in the TMC who did not indulge in corruption, did not oppress people and did not misuse public office. We had asked them to join us in bringing political change,” he said.
Seeking to distance the trio from the label of political defectors, Bhattacharya urged the media not to identify them by their former party affiliation.
Samik Bhattacharya said the BJP would not admit leaders accused of corruption or linked to political syndicates. However, he added the party had always been willing to welcome those who had maintained a clean public record.
“Everyone has a past. Their only identity today is that they are BJP workers,” he said.
The move represents a shift in the BJP’s handling of the rebellion that unfolded within the TMC after the April Assembly elections.
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Although the TMC repeatedly accused the BJP of encouraging defections, the party had until now stopped short of directly inducting former TMC leaders.
Instead, rebel Lok Sabha MPs aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, a little-known political outfit seen as friendly to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre.
Rebel TMC MLAs, on the other hand, chose a different path, staking a claim to the parent organisation. They declared themselves the “real” TMC and removed its founder and former Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson, triggering a prolonged legal and political battle over control of the party.
Against that backdrop, Thursday’s induction indicates that the BJP is now prepared to directly accommodate selected former TMC leaders.
Party leaders sought to distinguish them from other defectors by emphasising that they were not tainted by allegations of corruption.
I was never involved in corruption: Sushmita Dev
Sushmita Dev, a former Congress leader who later joined the TMC, defended her decision by saying she had never been associated with corruption.
“My critics may point to many shortcomings, but no one can say that I was involved in corruption,” she said, adding that she had witnessed the scale of corruption within the TMC from close quarters.
Roy also attacked the previous TMC government of Bengal over corruption, reinforcing the BJP’s political narrative against its former ruling rival.
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The timing has added to the political interest. The BJP has the numbers in the Bengal Assembly to comfortably secure all three Rajya Sabha seats, making a contest unlikely. For the TMC, the departures represent another symbolic setback after its electoral defeat.
While the party retains a substantial organisational presence, the exit of three experienced parliamentarians underscores the challenge of holding on to senior leaders during a period of political transition.
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The BJP, meanwhile, appears to be balancing two competing political objectives. It has sought to reassure its cadre that the party remains opposed to admitting leaders associated with corruption, while signalling that it is willing to make exceptions for leaders it considers politically credible and administratively experienced.
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