Ex-TMC Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Prakash Chik Baraik join BJP

Former Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha MPs Sushmita Dev, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Prakash Chik Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kolkata on Thursday, marking another setback for the opposition in West Bengal.

The three leaders were inducted into the BJP in the presence of state party president Samik Bhattacharya at the BJP’s Salt Lake office. Bhattacharya welcomed them by presenting BJP flags during the joining ceremony attended by senior state leaders.

The trio had resigned from the Rajya Sabha and quit the TMC last month after the party’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Ray and Baraik’s terms were due to end in September 2029, while Dev’s tenure was scheduled to continue until April 2030.

With Rajya Sabha bypolls for the three vacant seats set for July 24, the BJP is expected to field the former TMC MPs as its candidates.

“I have joined the BJP not with the expectation of a Rajya Sabha berth, but as an outgoing MP from West Bengal. The party high command will decide on the candidates,” Sushmita Dev said after joining the party.

Bhattacharya said the experience of the three former parliamentarians would further strengthen the BJP’s organisation in the state.

BJP eyes clean sweep in Rajya Sabha bypolls

The BJP’s commanding victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections has significantly altered the state’s Rajya Sabha arithmetic. The party currently holds 207 MLAs in the 294-member Assembly, giving it a comfortable majority.

The opposition’s prospects have weakened further following the split in the TMC between factions led by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee. Around 65 MLAs are believed to be with the Ritabrata camp, while only about 15 remain with the Mamata faction.

With a candidate requiring around 70 first-preference votes to win in the three-seat bypoll, the BJP has enough strength to mount a serious challenge for all three seats, while neither TMC faction has the numbers to secure a victory on its own.

Political observers say the split has transformed what would typically have been a two-to-one contest into one in which the BJP is well placed to sweep all three Rajya Sabha seats.