The Election Commission on Monday announced that bypolls to three Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal, which had fallen vacant last month after the resignation of three Trinamool Congress (TMC) members Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Shekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik, will be held on July 24.
The results will also be announced on the same day.
The three Rajya Sabha seats had fallen vacant after the members resigned in June in the wake of a rebellion within the TMC ranks, which had sparked after 20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs, led by veteran party leader and former Mamata Banerjee confidant Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, announced that they had merged with the Nationalist Citizens’ Party of India (NCPI).
Ray resigned on June 8, Dev resigned on June 10, followed by Baraik on June 11. All the three had more than three years remaining in their Rajya Sabha terms.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission said the notification for the bypolls will be issued on July 7. The last date for filing nominations is July 14 and the deadline for withdrawal of candidature is July 17.
