Kolkata, July 10 -- The induction of former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs in the BJP and quick announcement of their names as the BJP's candidates for Rajya Sabha sparked internal unrest, leading the state BJP leadership to ponder on how to check mass defections.
Hours after formally joining the BJP, former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha members -- Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik were named as the BJP's candidates for the upcoming bypoll elections for Rajya Sabha on Thursday. It appears to many that the state BJP had to accept the decision "thrust upon" them by the Central leaders considering the saffron party's compulsion to secure two-thirds majority in Rajya Sabha in order to pass various constitutional amendment bills on the cards. A section of grassroots BJP workers and a section of leadership too have expressed frustration within their circles that absorbing defectors blurs the ideological lines. Some argued that treating party-hopping politicians as "winning horses" undermines the years of hard work put in by the party's old and trusted cadres.
Resentment brewed after turncoats received BJP's nominations for Rajya Sabha immediately after joining and by virtue of its strength in the Assembly, they will win as well. Following large-scale defections ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP had faced setbacks because voters struggled to distinguish between the two parties. The three former TMC MPs were inducted into the BJP at the party's Salt Lake office in Kolkata in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and other senior leaders. Bhattacharya, during the press conference, said that they will abide by the instructions given by the party's central leaders.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced that voting for the three Rajya Sabha bypolls will be held on July 24, with counting scheduled for the same evening. The NDA currently has 141 members in the 242-member House. With the support of 10 nominated and Independent members, who have generally voted with the government, its assured strength goes up to 151. That is well above the simple majority mark, but still 11 short of the two-thirds majority required in the current House.
The gap could narrow if the government secures the backing of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party, which together have nine members in the Rajya Sabha. Their support would take the NDA's tally to around 160. The resignations of the three TMC MPs created vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, prompting the poll body to announce bypolls.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.