Kolkata, July 13: Three BJP nominees – Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik – filed nomination papers on Monday for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in West Bengal, with the saffron party defending its decision to field the TMC turncoats despite its earlier pledge not to induct leaders from the Trinamool Congress.
The otherwise routine nominations for the July 24 Rajya Sabha bypolls highlighted a visible shift in the BJP’s post-assembly election approach, with the party now selectively accommodating opposition leaders it considers politically valuable instead of adhering to its earlier blanket resistance to former TMC functionaries.
Ahead of filing the nominations, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya met the three candidates in the CM’s chamber in the assembly before accompanying them to the returning officer.
The vacancies arose after Ray, Dev and Baraik resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the TMC following the Assembly election. They joined the BJP on July 9 and were named the party’s RS nominees within hours, ensuring an immediate parliamentary comeback.
The BJP, meanwhile, sought to politically justify what many within it had until recently described as an exception to its own policy.
Rejecting allegations that the BJP was undergoing “Trinamoolification”, Bhattacharya said the party was bigger than any individual and “the country is bigger than the party”, indicating that the induction of the three former TMC MPs was guided by what it viewed as national interest rather than organisational expediency.
Senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh echoed that argument, saying there was nothing in the party’s principles that prevented it from accepting capable leaders from other political formations.
The remarks reflect a calibrated evolution in the BJP’s position. Soon after assuming office, senior leaders had maintained that the party would not indiscriminately induct politicians from the former ruling establishment after repeatedly accusing the TMC government of corruption and administrative misgovernance.
The latest move suggests the BJP has drawn a distinction between indiscriminate defections and the selective induction of leaders it considers experienced, politically useful and free from serious baggage.
By rewarding three prominent defectors with a certain return to Parliament, the BJP has signalled that influential opposition leaders can expect political accommodation if they fit into its broader strategy of post-election consolidation.
The exercise also illustrates how the BJP’s priorities have evolved after assuming power in Bengal.
The initial focus was on ensuring administrative stability and a smooth governmental transition.
The emphasis now appears to have shifted towards expanding the party’s political footprint, consolidating its organisational dominance and reinforcing the perception that it has emerged as the principal destination for influential opposition leaders.
The BJP’s confidence stems not only from its political messaging but also from overwhelming legislative arithmetic.
Each of the three vacancies is being filled through a separate election under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Since every vacancy is treated as an independent contest, a candidate requires the support of 147 MLAs in the 294-member assembly to secure election.
Following its assembly election victory, the BJP has 207 MLAs after one vacancy arose following Adhikari vacating the Nandigram seat. The party therefore comfortably crosses the winning mark in all three contests on its own.
The opposition, by contrast, remains well short of the required numbers. (PTI)
