Ex-TMC MLA to go independent for Bengal berth

In a dramatic twist, former Trinamul Congress MLA Dinesh Bajaj is contesting as an independant candidate for the fifth and final Rajya Sabha (RS) seat in West Bengal. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s party has also decided to support him, playing a masterstroke to make the fight only tougher for CPI(M) leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, a candidate fielded jointly by the Left and Congress, for the same seat. Mr Bajaj, who is a businessman, was earlier elected as a Trinamul MLA from Jorasanko assembly constituency in central Kolkata in 2006 during the Communist rule. Even after his defeat, his association with the Trinamul has remained intact. His candidature for the Rajya Sabha seat however remained secret till Friday afternoon when he went to the state Assembly to file his nomination. Mr Bajaj was seen running through the Assembly corridor to submit his nomination a minute before the deadline ends at 3 pm. Earlier, the Trinamul fielded four candidates out of five seats. It still wanted former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as an independant candidate to contest the fifth RS seat. But the Congress and Left objected to it since they already fielded Mr Bhattacharyya, also former Kolkata mayor, for the same seat. A signal was sent from the Trinamul to Mr Bajaj on Thursday night to contest the RS polls as an independent candidate who will get the party’s support also, according to sources.

Two Trinamul candidates, Mausam Benazir Noor and Arpita Ghosh, also filed their nominations on the last day which saw another twist.