The Trinamool Congress on Friday nominated advocate Menaka Guruswamy, former West Bengal Police chief Rajeev Kumar, state minister Babul Supriyo and actress Koel Mallick for the Rajya Sabha elections.
The polls will take place on March 16. The nominees are expected to be elected as the Trinamool Congress, based on the composition of the Assembly, is likely to win unopposed four out of the five seats for which polls have been announced.
Guruswamy and her partner Arundhati Katju had argued against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in the Supreme Court. In 2018, the court struck down the section and decriminalised homosexual activity between consenting adults.
She was among the lawyers who represented the Bengal government in the Supreme Court in the 2024 Kolkata rape and murder case.
Guruswamy was the Trinamool’s counsel in the Calcutta High Court following the face-off between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Enforcement Directorate in January.
Kumar served as Bengal’s director general of police from December 2023 till January, except for four months in 2024 when he had been removed by the Election Commission during the Lok Sabha elections.
Supriyo is the state minister for information technology and public enterprises. He became a Trinamool MLA in 2022 after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021. A former MP from Asansol, Supriyo was a Union minister in the Narendra Modi government between 2014 and 2021.
The party said that it expects the nominees to uphold its “enduring legacy of resilience and its unwavering commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity” of citizens.
The BJP criticised the nominations saying that half of them were non-Bengalis.
“Couldn’t Mamata Banerjee find enough Bengalis to nominate?” the Hindutva party asked on social media. “Or is she obliging those who hold her dirty secrets and are willing accomplices in her crime and corruption syndicate?”
The Rajya Sabha polls in the state come ahead of the Assembly elections that are expected to take place in April or May.
The Trinamool Congress has been in power in the state since 2011.
Just 0.2% of readers pay for news. The others don’t care if it dies. You can help make a difference. Support independent journalism – join Scroll now.
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!