TMC announces six candidates including Saket Gokhale for Rajya Sabha polls

TMC has announced six candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls. Among the candidates is RTI activist Saket Gokhale, who was a former foreign correspondent.

New Delhi: Controversial RTI activist Saket Gokhale has been nominated by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) for the upper house of the Parliament — Rajya Sabha — Elections 2023. The TMC on Monday announced the candidature of Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Samirul Islam, Prakash Chik Baraik, and Saket Gokhale for the Rajya Sabha polls.

"May they persist in their dedication to serving the people and uphold Trinamool's enduring legacy of indomitable spirit and advocacy for the 'RIGHTS OF EVERY INDIAN'. We extend our heartfelt wishes to all," TMC said in Tweet soon after the announcement on the same platform.

• We take great pleasure in announcing the candidatures of @derekobrienmp , @Dolasen7 , @Sukhendusekhar, @Samirul65556476 , @ChikPrakash , and @SaketGokhale for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections. May they persist in their dedication to serving the people and uphold Trinamool's…

  — All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 10, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  We take great pleasure in announcing the candidatures of @derekobrienmp , @Dolasen7 , @Sukhendusekhar, @Samirul65556476 , @ChikPrakash , and @SaketGokhale for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections. May they persist in their dedication to serving the people and uphold Trinamool's…

  — All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 10, 2023

  ">

  We take great pleasure in announcing the candidatures of @derekobrienmp , @Dolasen7 , @Sukhendusekhar, @Samirul65556476 , @ChikPrakash , and @SaketGokhale for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections. May they persist in their dedication to serving the people and uphold Trinamool's…

  — All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) July 10, 2023

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the polls for 10 vacant Rajya Sabha seats in West Bengal, Gujarat, and Goa are set to be held on July 24. Meanwhile, Assam leader Sushmita Dev and Shanta Chhetri have been dropped from the list and the no-vote-to-BJP campaign faces Samirul Islam and minister Bulu Chik Baraik's brother Prakash Chik Baraik have been included in the list.

Saket Gokhale, a journalist-turned-RTI-activist joined the Trinamool Congress in 2021 after having worked as a foreign correspondent with the Hindustan Times and the Financial Times. Gokhale shot into the limelight in December 2022, when he was arrested following a controversial Tweet during the Morbi bridge collapse incident in Gujarat. Hailing from Gujarat, Saket was under scrutiny for allegedly posting misinformation on social media.

Gokhale was arrested twice for the same Tweet after having bagged bail from a Metropolitan court in Ahmedabad. Also, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Gokhale and charged him with money laundering. However, The TMC said that Gokhale had recently filed a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the controversial Pegasus spyware's budgetary allocation by the Union Home Ministry.

Saket Gokhale, who is the national spokesperson of TMC, said that he was grateful to his leaders Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee for fielding him as a candidate for election as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.

• I’m extremely grateful to my leaders @MamataOfficial & @abhishekaitc for fielding me as a candidate for election as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
  
  I’m overwhelmed by their faith in me & for giving this opportunity to a young middle-class boy who comes from a non-political… https://t.co/q13h9F79up

  — Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 10, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  I’m extremely grateful to my leaders @MamataOfficial & @abhishekaitc for fielding me as a candidate for election as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
  
  I’m overwhelmed by their faith in me & for giving this opportunity to a young middle-class boy who comes from a non-political… https://t.co/q13h9F79up

  — Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 10, 2023

  ">

  I’m extremely grateful to my leaders @MamataOfficial & @abhishekaitc for fielding me as a candidate for election as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha.
  
  I’m overwhelmed by their faith in me & for giving this opportunity to a young middle-class boy who comes from a non-political… https://t.co/q13h9F79up

  — Saket Gokhale (@SaketGokhale) July 10, 2023

Three Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat will also go to polls as Dineshchandra Jemalbhai Anavadiya, Lokhandwala Jugalsinh Mathurji, S Jaishankar will retire on August 18. Last week, the Congress said it would not field candidates for the Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat as it did not have enough MLAs in the 182-member state Assembly. In the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election, BJP won a record 156 seats. The Congress saw its worst performance since the state was formed by bagging just 17 seats. Out of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat, eight are currently held by the BJP and the rest by the Congress.