The BJP Sunday announced Dinesh Arya and former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and actor Rukmini alias Koel Mallick as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, respectively.

Biennial elections for 11 Rajya Sabha seats, 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, are scheduled for October 16, alongside a bypoll in West Bengal. Mallick will contest the West Bengal bypoll to retain the seat after joining the BJP following the TMC’s defeat in the Assembly elections.

Arya, an organisational leader with ties to both the RSS and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, currently serves as vice chairperson of the state’s Water Resources Management and Regulatory Commission, a position equivalent to a state Cabinet minister.

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TMC split and Mallick’s nomination

Mallick, a prominent figure in Bengali cinema, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the TMC in April. She subsequently resigned and joined the BJP in July as part of a split within TMC ranks, during which 18 MPs separated, merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and extended support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

With the October 6 deadline for filing nominations approaching, BJP leaders held discussions at the party headquarters in New Delhi to finalise candidates for the remaining seats, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. Party sources said the BJP is prioritising women candidates and experienced organisational workers as it seeks to expand its current tally of 116 seats in the 245-member House.

In Uttar Pradesh, 10 seats are falling vacant, eight of which are currently held by the BJP, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) hold one each. The single seat falling vacant in Uttarakhand is held by BJP MP Naresh Bansal.

While BJP leaders expressed confidence in retaining all eight seats in Uttar Pradesh, party insiders noted that one seat could be contested. With 256 MLAs in the 403-member UP Assembly, the party falls slightly short of the required first-preference votes (37 per seat) to secure all eight seats outright without opposition.

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Currently, the BJP-led NDA holds 150 seats in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, while non-NDA parties account for just over 100 seats.