Derek O'Brien, an MP since 2011, is the Trinamool's leader in the Upper House (File)
All seven candidates from Bengal - six from the Trinamool Congress, including Derek O'Brien and Saket Gokhale, and one from the BJP - have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, state assembly officials said.
Six Rajya Sabha seats of the state are scheduled to go to polls on July 24, the tenures of which are going to end in August. A by-election was also supposed to be held on another Rajya Sabha seat.
"After the scrutiny of nomination papers, the assembly secretary announced that all six candidates of the TMC and one of the BJP have been elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed," an assembly official said.
The TMC leaders elected unopposed are Derek O'Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray and Dola Sen. Mr O'Brien, an MP since 2011, is the TMC's leader in the Upper House, while Mr Ray, first sent to the Upper House of Parliament in 2012, is the deputy chief whip. Ms Sen, a senior leader and trade unionist, became an MP in 2017.
The newcomers on the list were Bangla Sanskriti Mancha president Samirul Islam, the TMC's Alipurduar district president Prakash Chik Baraik, and RTI activist and party spokesperson Saket Gokhale.
Mr Gokhale was elected in the by-poll to a Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant following the resignation of former Goa Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro in April.
Ananta Rai 'Maharaj' became the BJP's first elected member of the Rajya Sabha from Bengal. He earlier demanded a separate state of 'Greater Cooch Behar' to be carved out of the northern part of the state.
The TMC has 216 MLAs in the 294-member assembly and enjoys the support of five BJP legislators, who switched over to the ruling party but are yet to resign from the House. The BJP has 70 lawmakers in the assembly.
According to the number, of the six seats whose tenure is going to expire, the TMC was supposed to get five, and the BJP one. Mr Gokhale got elected in the by-polls.
"The most important matter in Parliament is debate. We aim to ensure that there is proper debate on all the Bills and not just Bills being passed through a voice vote," Mr Gokhale said.