Agartala

On Tuesday, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar swore in two new members of the upper house Tripura BJP President Rajib Bhattacharjee and former Assam MLA Mission Ranjan Das. The oath-taking ceremony, held at Parliament House in New Delhi, was also attended by BJP President and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda.

The two Rajya Sabha seats had recently become vacant. In Assam, the seats were left open after Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Kamakhya Prasad Tasa won Lok Sabha seats. Bhattacharjee secured his position on September 3, winning a by-election against CPI-M’s Sudhan Das. The Tripura seat had been vacated by former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, who moved to the Lok Sabha.

Bhattacharjee, a long-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporter, became Tripura BJP chief on August 25, 2022, replacing Manik Saha. Bhattacharjee had previously contested the state Assembly elections from Banamalipur without success.

In Assam, former Union Minister Rameswar Teli and Mission Ranjan Das were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on August 26. The opposition chose not to field candidates, leading to their uncontested victory.