Hours after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, three former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs, Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik, were named the saffron party's candidates for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in West Bengal.
The BJP's Central Election Committee announced the names of Dev, Ray and Baraik as its nominees for the July 24 bypolls, days after the Election Commission notified elections to the three Rajya Sabha seats that fell vacant following their resignations from the TMC and the Upper House last month.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya inducted the trio into the party at its Salt Lake headquarters.
Asked whether the three would be fielded in the Rajya Sabha bypolls, Bhattacharya had smiled and said, "Let the speculations continue." The suspense ended a few hours later when the BJP central leadership formally announced their candidature.
The development marks the first major induction of former TMC leaders into the BJP since the party came to power in West Bengal, signalling that its post-election decision to keep Trinamool leaders at arm's length would not apply to those it considers politically credible and free from corruption allegations.
"We had said the doors are closed for Trinamool leaders. We stand by that. But those who did not indulge in corruption, did not oppress people, did not sell jobs or snatch away people's rights were always welcome to join us in the fight against the TMC and rebuild Bengal," Bhattacharya said.
Invoking the maxim that "the exception proves the rule", he said the BJP had always been open to leaders who had remained "untainted" despite serving in the TMC.
The formulation echoed his earlier remarks on accommodating "good" or "untainted" Trinamool leaders, which had earlier triggered unease within the BJP and drawn criticism from senior party leader and minister Dilip Ghosh.
Explaining his decision to join the BJP, Ray said he had been waiting for the "right moment".
"I have been in politics for 59 years. I fought the CPI(M) and the Naxalites. During the RG Kar incident, I made my stand clear. Thereafter, I faced tremendous pressure and threats, including threats that my daughter could be kidnapped," he alleged.
Ray said he had become convinced there was no future in continuing with the TMC.
Dev, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha on a TMC ticket after joining the party in 2021, also attacked her former party over corruption.
"I realised only after joining the TMC how unbelievable the extent of corruption could be. My critics may point to many shortcomings, but nobody can say I was associated with corruption," she said.
Taking a swipe at TMC MP Mahua Moitra, Dev remarked that "her biggest problem is that no one wants to take her into their party".
Explaining why she formally joined the BJP in Kolkata despite being based in Assam, Dev said the decision had been taken by the party leadership.
"I could have enrolled digitally from home. But the leadership decided I should join here. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told me I should respect the people of Bengal because they elected me to the Rajya Sabha twice," she said.
She also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance model for her decision, saying successive BJP victories in West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and Tripura reflected growing public faith in his leadership.
Bhattacharya said Dev would work for the BJP at the national level.
Baraik, who entered the Rajya Sabha in 2023 and is known for his organisational work among tea garden workers in north Bengal, also joined the BJP on Thursday.
Seeking to draw a line under their political past, Bhattacharya said, "Everyone has a past. Their only identity now is that they are BJP workers."
The TMC, however, sought to downplay the development.
Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said Ray had been repeatedly honoured by Mamata Banerjee despite never having been elected an MLA or MP before joining the party.
"People are watching everything. They did not leave when Mamata Banerjee was the chief minister. They left only after the election," Ghosh said.
With the BJP enjoying a comfortable majority in the West Bengal Assembly, the election of Dev, Ray and Baraik to the Rajya Sabha is widely expected to be a formality. The nominations cap a swift political turnaround that saw the three leaders resign from the TMC, join the BJP and return as the party's nominees for the Upper House within weeks.
(With inputs rom PTI)
