BJP Names Koel Mallick From West Bengal, Dinesh Arya From Uttarakhand For Rajya Sabha Polls

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday announced the names of two important candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections. The party has fielded Dinesh Arya for the Rajya Sabha seat of Uttarakhand, while it has fielded actress-turned-politician Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, as its candidate for the by-election to the vacant Rajya Sabha seat of West Bengal. Both the names have been approved by the Central Election Committee of BJP. 

When will the elections be held on these Rajya Sabha seats?

Along with biennial elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and one Rajya Sabha seat in Uttarakhand, by-elections are also to be held for one seat in West Bengal. According to the Election Commission's schedule, voting in the three states will be held on October 16 from 9 am to 4 pm. Counting of votes will start at 5 pm on the same day. The last date for filing nomination is October 6, scrutiny of nomination papers is October 7, and the last date for withdrawal of nomination is October 9. 

Why did Dinesh Arya get ticket in Uttarakhand?

The Rajya Sabha seat of Uttarakhand is falling vacant due to the completion of the tenure of BJP MP Naresh Bansal. His tenure is to end in November. Given the strong position of BJP in the state assembly, the party is in a position to retain its hold on this seat. BJP has now approved the name of Dinesh Arya for this election. 

How did Koel Mallick return to Bengal?

The election for the West Bengal seat is not a normal biennial election but a by-election. This seat became vacant after the resignation of Rukmini Mallick. Mallick had reached Rajya Sabha on the Trinamool Congress ticket this year and resigned in July. Now BJP has again made her a candidate from the same seat, but this time on a BJP ticket after changing the party.

Who is Koel Mallick?

Rukmini Mallick is known as Koyal Mallick in the film industry. She is a famous actress of Bengali films and is the daughter of actor Ranjit Mallick. After coming into politics, Trinamool Congress sent her to Rajya Sabha. However, before her tenure could last long, she resigned from the membership of the House in July. Now BJP has declared her as its candidate for the same vacant seat. 

How strong is BJP's position?

In Uttarakhand, BJP has a clear majority in the Assembly, due to which Dinesh Arya's candidature is considered to be in a strong position. Even in West Bengal, BJP has sufficient assembly numbers after the 2026 assembly elections. In such a situation, the electoral mathematics for Koel Mallick also appear to be in favour of BJP. However, the final result will be clear only after the voting of MLAs and completion of the election process. 

What will happen next in the elections?

After voting on October 16, counting of votes will take place on the same day. Before this, the process of nomination and scrutiny of the candidates will be completed. Apart from the 10 seats of Uttar Pradesh, the focus of political parties has also increased on the seats of Uttarakhand and West Bengal. After the announcement of two candidates by BJP, the picture of the contest in these elections is expected to become clearer. Daijiworld