Sushmita , Sukhendu , and Prakash Chik Join BJP and and announced Rajyasabha candidates

Three Rajya Sabha MPs who switched camp from the Trinamool Congress to the BJP this evening — Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik — have been fielded as candidates for the Rajya Sabha by-elections by their new party. The by-elections became necessary because the leaders had resigned the seats before the shift.

The BJP’s Central Election Committee announced their names for the July 24 Rajya Sabha bypolls, in what appears a 180-degree shift in their policy of not accepting Trinamool leaders in the party. (UPDATED ON 9TH JULY 2026)