Kolkata, March 3 Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha asserted on Tuesday that his candidature for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from West Bengal was a testament to the party’s recognition of dedicated workers.
Sinha also said he would raise issues of “misgovernance” by the ruling Trinamool Congress in the House if elected.
The former West Bengal unit chief was among the nine nominees announced by the BJP for the Rajya Sabha polls.
The biennial elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states that are falling vacant on different dates in April are set to be held on March 16. The counting of votes will take place on the same day.
"My nomination sends this message to hundreds of BJP workers that they will be recognized at the appropriate time. If you work for the organization silently and with dedication, you will be rewarded," Sinha told reporters here.
"On issues such as law and order, the safety of women, the migration of young people to other states, and corruption and changes in the demographic situation, I will highlight all these issues (of Bengal) in the Rajya Sabha (if elected)," he said in response to a question.
The TMC had also recently announced the names of minister Babul Supriyo, former Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, advocate Menaka Guruswamy, and actor Koel Mallick as candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
Commenting on the TMC’s nominees, Sinha said "50 per cent of the four RS candidates of the party are not Bengalis”.
"The TMC doesn't care about Bengalis. Remember, it did nothing to alleviate the suffering of thousands of migrants from the state during the COVID-19 pandemic," he alleged.
"The decisions of the ruling party never stem from the need to promote the interests of Bengal and address the issues faced by the people here. This shows that the TMC is not pro-Bengal despite its tall claims," Sinha asserted.
In response to another question, he said that the BJP "should not have" backed Mamata Banerjee when she was the opposition leader and fighting against the Left, as her party "never reciprocated" the gesture of leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Rajnath Singh.
"Our party rushed to her side when she was on a 26-day fast, but she betrayed and backstabbed us," Sinha said, apparently referring to Banerjee's fast on the Singur issue, years before she came to power in West Bengal in 2011.
Banerjee was a minister in the Vajpayee cabinet.
Sinha also criticised the TMC for nominating Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, "despite Bengali-speaking people forming the majority of the population in the constituency”.
