India, July 9 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday named former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik as its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections, just hours after the three formally joined the party.

The announcement came soon after the leaders were inducted into the BJP at the party's West Bengal headquarters in Salt Lake, Kolkata.

Switch follows exit from TMC

Dev, Ray and Baraik resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the Trinamool Congress last month following the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, leading to bypolls for the three vacant Upper House seats.

They joined the BJP with West Bengal BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya ...