NEW DELHI: The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday announced four candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, triggering a sharp political attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party;s West Bengal unit over the choices.In a statement, the TMC said it had nominated Babul Supriyo, former West Bengal director general of police Rajeev Kumar, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy and actor Koel Mallick. The party said the nominees reflected Trinamool’s commitment to “resilience” and to safeguarding the rights and dignity of citizens.“May they continue to uphold Trinamool’s enduring legacy and its unwavering commitment to the people of India,” the party said in its official announcement.
The nominations, however, drew an immediate and caustic response from the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal. The BJP alleged that half of Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha nominees were non-Bengalis, questioning chief minister Mamata Banerjee‘s oft-stated pro-Bengal stance.“Couldn’t Mamata Banerjee find enough Bengalis to nominate? Or is she rewarding those who hold her dirty secrets and are willing accomplices in her crime and corruption syndicate?” the BJP’s West Bengal unit said in a statement, accusing the TMC of using Bengali identity only as an electoral tool.The BJP further alleged that Banerjee “despises Bengalis” while claiming to champion their cause, and said the nominations exposed what it called the hollowness of Trinamool’s regional pride narrative.
