An economist and a newspaper editor are among those to have been chosen by different political groupings in West Bengal as candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections for which are to be held on July 14. Also in the field are three Polit Bureau members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat and Chittabrata Majumdar.
The ruling Left Front has decided to support economist Arjun Sengupta, an Independent candidate, on the strength of the excess preferential votes it enjoys even after mustering the required support for its four candidates, one of whom is Abani Roy of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Six seats are up for grabs in the elections.
The decision to support Dr. Sengupta came in the wake of his meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee earlier this week when he reportedly expressed his desire to contest the elections.
The Opposition Trinamool Congress, which has the required strength in the Assembly to ensure the victory of one candidate, has decided to field Swapan Sadhan Bose, editor of 'Sanbad Pratidin', a city-based Bengali newspaper. This was announced by party leader Mamata Banerjee here on Thursday. Mr. Bose is also the president of Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, a popular sports club in the city.
