Kolkata: Trinamool Congress' top trade union leader Dola Sen was today declared elected unopposed in the by-election to the Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal, which fell vacant after the resignation of party MP Srinjoy Bose.
With her election, the strength of the TMC in Rajya Sabha remains 12.
The result was declared by the State Assembly's Secretary and Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha bypoll Buddheswar Mohanti on the day withdrawal of candidature today.
Mohanti handed over the certificate of election to Sen who was the only candidate in the fray.
Forty-five-year old Sen ? a mathematics graduate from Calcutta University ? had Naxal leanings till she joined Mamata Banerjee at the height of the Singur and Nandigram anti-land acquisition agitations.
A constant presence on Mamata's side (even during her 26-day Singur fast), Sen told PTI she was grateful to the party supremo Mamata Banerjee for nominating her as a candidate.
"I am a disciplined soldier of the party and have tried to deliver whatever responsibilities the party had assigned to me," Sen said.
Sen had last year lost the Asansol Lok Sabha seat to union minister Babul Supriyo by a margin of over 70,000 votes.
The election was necessitated by the resignation of Bose on February 5 in the aftermath of the Saradha chit fund scam.
The new Rajya Sabha incumbent will fill in for Bose?s remaining Rajya Sabha tenure which runs till August 18, 2017.
Sen was on March 4 made the national president INTTUC, TMC's labour arm. She had been removed as the state president of Trinamool trade union in November.
