New Delhi, October 4 (HS). The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Central Election Committee has approved the names of its candidates for the Rajya Sabha biennial election in Uttarakhand and the Rajya Sabha by-election in West Bengal. The party has nominated Dinesh Arya from Uttarakhand and Rukmini Mallick (Koel Mallick) from West Bengal.

According to a press release issued by the BJP on Sunday, the Central Election Committee has approved the names of the candidates for the two states.

A biennial election is scheduled to be held for one Rajya Sabha seat in Uttarakhand. The party has nominated Dinesh Arya as its candidate for the seat.

In West Bengal, the BJP has fielded Rukmini Mallick (Koel Mallick) for the by-election to one Rajya Sabha seat.

Dinesh Arya has previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Uttarakhand State-level Drinking Water Monitoring Council with the rank of a Minister of State. He has also served as the Public Relations Officer to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, former Nainital district president of the BJP, and national secretary of the party’s Scheduled Caste Morcha.

Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, is an actress and politician known primarily for her work in Bengali cinema. She had earlier served as a Rajya Sabha member representing the Trinamool Congress. Mallick resigned from the Rajya Sabha on July 16, 2026.

One Rajya Sabha seat in West Bengal has fallen vacant following Mallick’s resignation. Her term was scheduled to continue until April 2, 2032. A by-election will now be held for the vacant seat.

It may be recalled that biennial elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and one seat in Uttarakhand, along with a by-election to one seat in West Bengal, will be held on October 16. The terms of 11 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are due to expire in November this year, necessitating biennial elections for these seats.

Candidates will be able to file their nominations until October 6. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 7, while candidates may withdraw their nominations until October 9. Voting will be held on October 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by counting of votes from 5 p.m. the same day. The entire electoral process is scheduled to be completed by October 19.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar