Tuesday, June 28 2005 21:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: CPM (Communist Party of India Marxist) today (Jun 28, 2005) decided to nominate one of its leading party ideologues and a key man in the party's decision-making process, Sitaram Yechury, for a Rajya Sabha seat from Left Front-ruled West Bengal along with high-profile woman activist and party's Politburo member, Brinda Karat.

This would be a parliamentary debut for both the key Politburo members of the party with their victory certain in the July 14 polls since the Left Front has 199 members in a 294-member State assembly.

Another CPM Politburo member Chittabrata Mazumdar was re-renominated to contest the third seat, CPM State secretary Anil Biswas said after the party's state secretariat meeting in Kolkata.

He said that Left Front partner RSP (Rashtriya Samajwadi Party), which was to get another nomination, informed that it would select its candidate and communicate to the Left Front on Thursday.

He said each candidate would require to get 42 preferential votes to win and said the Front would have 32 repeat 32 preferential votes after getting its candidates elected.

The main Opposition party, Trinamool Congress is eligible to put a candidate for the fifth seat.

Biswas said Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee was entrusted to select a suitable independent candidate for the sixth Rajya Sabha seat from the State.

All the six RS seats are falling vacant in the State.