In Rajya Sabha consent, Bengal calls for bypolls to 7 Assembly segments

In the state, the byelections are due in Bhowanipore, Dinhata, Santipur, Khardah, Gosaba, Jangipur and Samserganj

Sources in the Trinamul Congress said they were hopeful that the EC would hold the byelections soon as it had started the process to hold the Rajya Sabha polls.: Shutterstock

Special Correspondent   |   TT  |  Calcutta   |   03.07.21: The Bengal government has informed the Election Commission of India that it is ready to hold polls to two Rajya Sabha seats and recommended that byelections to seven Assembly segments also be conducted immediately.

The Bengal government’s communication was sent to the poll panel after the EC had sought the state’s view on holding polls to the two Rajya Sabha seats vacated by Dinesh Trivedi and Manas Bhuniya.

“The state government has given its consent to the idea of holding Rajya Sabha elections at the earliest since the Assembly is in session,” said a source.

Sources said Nabanna had recommended that byelections to all the seven seats that were due could also be held without much delay. But the EC hadn’t sought the state’s view on the bypolls.

In Bengal, the bypolls are due in the Assembly segments of Bhowanipore, Dinhata, Santipur, Khardah, Gosaba, Jangipur and Samserganj.

Dinesh Trivedi had resigned as the Rajya Sabha member before joining the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls. Manas Bhuniya of Trinamul vacated the seat in the Upper House after he had won the Assembly poll from Sabang.

Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as the chief minister on May 5 for their third time and she needs to win a byelection to be a member of the Assembly within six months to continue in the post. She had been defeated by Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP in the Nandigram seat.

Mamata had said recently that she would request the EC and the Prime Minister to hold the bypolls as early as possible. “It is the ideal time to hold the byelections as daily Covid-19 cases have come down to less than 2,000 from 22,000-odd at the end of April,” said a senior official.

Sources in the Trinamul Congress said they were hopeful that the EC would hold the byelections soon as it had started the process to hold the Rajya Sabha polls.

Soon after the Assembly poll results had come out, the EC postponed all the byelections.