On Sunday, The Trinamool Congress (TMC) nominated senior journalist Sagarika Ghose as their candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections on February 27. Ghose, spouse of Rajdeep Sardesai has been the consulting editor at the Times of India and started her career with ToI in 1991.
Ghose expressed excitement and stated that her inspiration was the TMC leader and West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee and her “formidable courage”.
“I am delighted and honoured to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the @AITCofficial. I remain inspired by the formidable courage of @MamataOfficial, India’s only woman chief minister. My commitment to constitutional democratic values remains unflinching,” Ghose posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ghose, an experienced journalist, columnist, and writer, graduated from St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi before securing a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. There, she pursued her postgraduate studies in Modern History. Commencing her career in journalism in 1991, she has lent her expertise to renowned publications including The Times of India, Outlook, and The Indian Express.
Throughout her career, Ghose has been recognized with several awards in journalism, including the C. H Mohammed Koya National Journalism Award and the Best Anchor Award from the Indian Television Academy. She is the daughter of Bhaskar Ghose, the former director general of Doordarshan. Sagarika Ghose is married to Indian news anchor, journalist, and author Rajdeep Sardesai.
Besides Ghose, the TMC has put forward three other candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls: Sushmita Dev, former head of the Congress’ women’s wing and former Lok Sabha member; Mamata Bala Thakur, a leader from the Dalit Matua community and ex-Lok Sabha member; and Nadimul Haque, the incumbent Rajya Sabha member. The elections for 56 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states are scheduled for February 27. In West Bengal, which has 16 Rajya Sabha seats, the TMC currently holds 14. Among these, the terms of five members – Nadimul Haque, Subhashis Chakraborty, Abir Biswas, Dr. Santanu Sen, and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi – will expire in April.