NEW DELHI: There are already speculations that TMC will send Banerjee to Parliament to counter the NDA government.
Notably, West Bengal sends 16 Rajya Sabha MPs to Parliament. Rajya Sabha elections for the five Members, who completed their tenures, have already been completed this year. So, if Mamata Banerjee wishes to enter the Rajya Sabha, she will have to make at least five of the 16 MPs resign.
Because now to win a Rajya Sabha seat in a bypoll, a party needs 148 votes, which the TMC lacks as has only 80 seats. So to win a Rajya Sabha bypoll with 80 seats, at least five TMC Rajya Sabha MPs will have to quit, bringing down the eligible vote quota to around 50. In this way, while Mamata’s TMC can get a seat, the BJP will benefit the most as it may win remaining four. So, it’s unlikely that Banerjee will go to the Rajya Sabha.
The easiest way for Mamata Banerjee to enter Parliament is via the Lok Sabha. The TMC has 29 Lok Sabha MPs in West Bengal. If a TMC Lok Sabha MP from the party’s stronghold area resigns, Banerjee can contest from that seat, hoping for a win. This way, she can enter the Lok Sabha. However, given the changing political dynamics of West Bengal, that election won’t be an easy task for the TMC.
The third option for Mamata Banerjee is to revive the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and work at the grassroots level with workers to identify the issues that alienated the voters from the TMC. While Banerjee remains a popular face in Bengal with 40% vote share, what’s lacking is the ground connect despite the welfare schemes. She can use this opportunity to build back the party’s ground connections with the voters.
