The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday announced its candidates for the October 16 Rajya Sabha elections, naming film actor Koel Mallick for the West Bengal by-election and Dinesh Arya for the biennial election in Uttarakhand. The names were approved by the BJP's central election committee.
Biennial elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with the by-election for one seat from West Bengal, will be held on October 16. Polling will take place from 9 am to 4 pm, with counting on the same day.
Why the vacancies arose
The Uttarakhand seat fell vacant as BJP's Naresh Bansal is set to retire from the Upper House in November. In West Bengal, the seat fell vacant after Rukmini Mallick, better known as Koel Mallick, resigned from the Rajya Sabha on July 16, 2026. Her term was originally scheduled to run until April 2, 2032.
Koel was the fourth Rajya Sabha MP to resign in July 2026. Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik had also resigned from the Upper House earlier that month; all three subsequently joined the BJP and won re-election. Koel, one of Bengal's best-known film stars and the daughter of veteran actor Ranjit Mallick, entered active politics only a month before her Rajya Sabha nomination and did not attend a single sitting of Parliament.
The announcement followed political churn in West Bengal after the BJP's victory in the 2026 Assembly elections. The BJP says it is in a strong position to win both seats given its strength in the two state assemblies, where it commands a majority in Uttarakhand.
Sources:
- BJP names Koel Mallick from West Bengal, Dinesh Arya from Uttarakhand as Rajya Sabha candidates (India TV News): https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/in...-candidates-latest-updates-2026-10-04-1056044
Biennial elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with the by-election for one seat from West Bengal, will be held on October 16. Polling will take place from 9 am to 4 pm, with counting on the same day.
Why the vacancies arose
The Uttarakhand seat fell vacant as BJP's Naresh Bansal is set to retire from the Upper House in November. In West Bengal, the seat fell vacant after Rukmini Mallick, better known as Koel Mallick, resigned from the Rajya Sabha on July 16, 2026. Her term was originally scheduled to run until April 2, 2032.
Koel was the fourth Rajya Sabha MP to resign in July 2026. Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik had also resigned from the Upper House earlier that month; all three subsequently joined the BJP and won re-election. Koel, one of Bengal's best-known film stars and the daughter of veteran actor Ranjit Mallick, entered active politics only a month before her Rajya Sabha nomination and did not attend a single sitting of Parliament.
The announcement followed political churn in West Bengal after the BJP's victory in the 2026 Assembly elections. The BJP says it is in a strong position to win both seats given its strength in the two state assemblies, where it commands a majority in Uttarakhand.
Sources:
- BJP names Koel Mallick from West Bengal, Dinesh Arya from Uttarakhand as Rajya Sabha candidates (India TV News): https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/in...-candidates-latest-updates-2026-10-04-1056044
