Jogen Chowdhury, Mithun Chakraborty to be TMC RS candidates

Five Rajya Sabha seats will be falling vacant in West Bengal in April, for which elections are scheduled on Feb 7

Trinamool Congress today announced the nomination of painter Jogen Chowdhury, actor Mithun Chakraborty and two others as their candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election in the state.

Five Rajya Sabha seats will be falling vacant in West Bengal in April, for which elections are scheduled on February 7.

"Today we had our election committee meeting to finalise the names of candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections. We will have four candidates. One is actor Mithun Chakraborty, second is painter Jogen Chowdhury, third is KD Singh, who is a Trinamool MP from Jharkhand, and the fourth is Ahmed Hassan, editor of Kalom daily," Trinamool Congress General Secretary Mukul Roy said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday announced the nomination of actor Mithun Chakraborty as her party's candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Chakraborty, one of the noted actors from Bengal, has been known for his closeness with late CPI(M) stalwart Subhas Chakraborty, who was also the sports minister during the Left regime.

Mithun was also seen campaigning for Subhas's wife during a by-election in 2009, after Chakraborty's death. Jogen Chowdhury has been long known as a Banerjee loyalist and has been a prominent face of Trinamool's intellectual brigade, which had protested against the erstwhile Left Front regime's land acquisition in Nandigram and Singur.

"I am painter by profession. Apart from my work, I will try my best to contribute in the development of the state. The way the Mamata Banerjee-led government has been working, it is my duty to make contribution is this developmental process," Chowdhury said.

Chowdhury is the second person from Banerjee's intellectual brigade after retired IAS Debabrata Banerjee to be sent to the upper House of the parliament by Trinamool after coming to power.

According to the strength in the Assembly, Trinamool with 186 seats, would be able to send three members to the Rajya Sabha. It has the support of six MLAs of the GJM and an Independent. The Left Front with about sixty seats will be able to secure one seat.

A candidate needs 49 votes to win the Rajya Sabha race in West Bengal, which has 294 Assembly seats. "All names have been approved by our chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee," Roy said.

The fourth TMC candidate, Ahmad Hasan, will have to face a contest.

All five seats going to the polls were with the CPI(M)-led Left Front and their supporting candidates.