The All India Trinamool Congress has declared its list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The elections to the upper house of the Parliament are scheduled on March 16, 2026.
Who all have been nominated by TMC?
The ruling party of West Bengal has nominated candidates who belong to various professional fields.
The Trinamool Congress has nominated West Bengal Minister of Information Technology and Electronics, and Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction, Babul Supriyo, for the upper house. A renowned playback singer, Supriyo, had contested the Lok Sabha elections from Asansol on BJP's ticket in 2014 and 2019, and won both times.
In 2021, Supriyo joined the Trinamool Congress in the presence of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and contested the bye-elections from the Ballygunge Assembly constituency on a TMC ticket. The seat had been vacated following the demise of former state minister Subrata Mukherjee, and Supriyo won the contest.
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We are pleased to announce the candidature of Babul Supriyo, Rajeev Kumar (Former DGP, West Bengal), Menaka Guruswamy and Koel Mallick for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) February 27, 2026
We extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to them. May they continue to uphold Trinamools
The Trinamool Congress has also nominated senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy for the upper house. A senior law practitioner at the Supreme Court, Guruswamy is known for her important role in many cases, which include the Section 377 case, the bureaucratic reforms case, the Augusta Westland bribery case, the Salwa Judum case, and the Right to Education case.
The third candidate of the Trinamool Congress is former West Bengal Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar. Kumar also served as Additional Chief Secretary in the Information and Technology Department of the Government of West Bengal from December 2019 to June 2025.
TMC also nominated Bengali film actor Koel Mallick to the upper house. Daughter of famed actor Ranjit Mallick, Koel has starred in numerous movies throughout her career.
Who are they replacing?
Elections to 5 Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal will be held on March 16. Out of these, the Trinamool Congress is set to win in four, and the BJP will get one seat, as per their respective number of seats in the West Bengal Assembly.
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The four new candidates will be replacing Trinamool Congress state president Subrata Bakshi, labour union leader and INTTUC (Trinamool's labour wing) president Ritabrata Banerjee, activist Saket Gokhale, and Mausam Noor. Noor quit the TMC weeks back and rejoined the Indian National Congress. She had also resigned from her Rajya Sabha position, leaving the seat vacant.
Elections for one more seat will be held on the 16th of next month. CPI(M) MP and former Kolkata Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya's term will also come to an end, and the BJP will be getting the seat. Till now, no announcement has been made on behalf of Bengal BJP as to who will be the party's candidate from West Bengal.
