Rajya Sabha polls: TMC announces six new candidates

TMC announces the candidature of Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Samirul Islam, Prakash Chik Baraik and Saket Gokhale for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Next Rajya Sabha elections for ten seat of Goa, Gujarat, and West Bengal will be held on July 24, announced the Election Commission of India. O'Brien, Dola Sen, Sushmita Dev and Shanta Chhetri are retiring from West Bengal.

"We take great pleasure in announcing the candidatures of Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar, Samirul Islam, Prakash Chik Baraik and Saket Gokhale for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections," the TMC said in a tweet.

"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," the party tweeted from its official handle on Monday morning," it said.

In West Bengal, nearly 700 seats will witness repolling on Thursday. Repolling was announced by the State Election Commission after cases of violence were reported in many parts of West Bengal during Panchayat Elections on Saturday.

After reports of violence in the state, previous voting for the panchayat elections was declared null and void. BJP had accused TMC of tampering with ballot boxes. Around 15 people lost their lives because of election violence in West Bengal on Saturday.

It is worth noting that repolling is being done under tight security with four central forces personnel deployed in each centre, besides state police.

"No major untoward incidents were reported from the districts where repolling is underway. A couple of stray incidents happened and those were managed by the police," a State Election Commission (SEC) official said on Monday.

Voting was delayed in some districts due to procedural delays. Voting will continue till 5 pm. The district that was worst-affected by the poll violence, Murshidabad, has the highest number of booths at 175 districts, followed with 109.