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Indian tennis legend Leander Paes is all set to enter Rajya Sabha as TMC mulls changes
In a bid to reposition itself and bring in fresh faces, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is all set to nominate Indian tennis legend Leander Paes as one of its candidates for the Rajya Sabha.
The tenure of five prominent TMC RS members will come to an end in another two and a half months, while former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro tendered his resignation in April.
The talks in the political corridor of West Bengal had already started to speculate about whom the TMC chief and Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee were going to nominate for the Upper House of Parliament.
With Falerio’s resignation, TMC now has Sukhendusekhar Roy, Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Santa Chhetri and Sushmita Dev as its members in the RS.
TMC sources told The New Indian that while the party will nominate a fresh candidate to replace Faleiro, there are also talks about introducing another new name on the list who will replace one of the existing members.
“While the majority of our RS MPs will retain their seats, there might be some new faces too,” the source said.
Among the probable candidates, Paes looks to be the frontrunner for one of the seats. The ace Indian tennis player, who joined TMC in October 2021 ahead of the Goa election, is considered to add to the glamour quotient. Sources, however, said that TMC plans to utilise the popularity of Paes ahead of the big 2024 general election.
In the same breath, sources said that TMC is also considering the name of former BJP and Congress leader Kirti Azad. The 1983 Cricket World Cup winner had previously represented Darbhanga in the Lok Sabha. Like Paes, Azad too joined TMC in 2021.
However, the sources believe that a dark horse could be the Assam TMC president, Ripun Bora. “TMC at present is thinking of at least one strong Rajya Sabha face from outside West Bengal. This is where Bora fits in,” the source said.
While Bora might not be a known name at the national level, in Assam he holds significant experience at the organisational level as a former president of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee.
After losing its national party status, ‘Didi’ and TMC are banking on Bora to give the party new ground in Assam, where it hopes to make inroads and make a dent in a weak Congress party.
