WB nominees Mukul Roy, 4 others elected unopposed to RS

All five Rajya Sabha nominees from West Bengal - four of the ruling Trinamool Congress and another fielded by the opposition Left Front - were elected unopposed after the Congress withdrew its only candidate from the fray Thursday.

Abdul Mannan, who had filed his papers as Congress nominee, pulled out from the race following instructions from the party high command.

With the deadline for withdrawal of nomination expiring at 3 p.m. Thursday, assembly secretary J. Chakraborty declared that the five remaining candidates for as many vacant seats were elected unopposed.

The four Trinamoool candidates who made it to the upper house of parliament are new Railway Minister Mukul Roy (who has been re-elected), and three journalists Kunal Ghosh, Mohammed Nadim-ul-Haq and Vivek Gupta.

The other victor was Tapan Sen of the Communist Party of India-Marxist - a veteran trade unionist and Centre of Indian Trade Unions secretary.