BJP on Sunday announced the names of Dinesh Arya as its candidate for Rajya Sabha polls in Uttarakhand. Actress and former TMC MP Rukmini alias Koel Mallick was named from West Bengal.The names of the candidates have been approved by the BJP central election committee, the party said. In Uttarakhand, the by-election is necessitated by the completion of the term of sitting Rajya Sabha member Naresh Bansal. Actress-turned-politician Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, recently switched to the BJP from the Trinamool Congress. She resigned as Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member in July this year, leaving the seat vacant and forcing a by-election.
The BJP announces Dinesh Arya as its candidate for the 2026 Rajya Sabha biennial election in Uttarakhand and Rukmini Mallick (Koel Mallick) as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-election in West Bengal. https://t.co/RR0y0bOFDN
— ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2026
Elections to 12 Rajya Sabha seats across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal will be held on October 16. The elections will cover 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, where the terms of the sitting members end on November 25, along with a bypoll to one seat from West Bengal. The notification for the elections was issued on September 29, while the last date for filing nominations will be October 6.
Newsinc24 Team