The BJP announced Dinesh Arya and Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, as candidates for two Rajya Sabha contests on October 4. Arya was selected for Uttarakhand’s biennial election, while Mallick was named for the West Bengal by-election. The Indian Express independently reported the Sunday decision, alongside news-agency coverage.
The party’s original dated notice, carried in ANI’s October 4 public post and inspected for this report, records approval by the BJP Central Election Committee. Signed by Tarun Chugh, it separates the Uttarakhand biennial election from the West Bengal by-election. The document announces party choices; it is not a returning officer’s acceptance of nomination papers or a declaration that either candidate has won.
The vacancies have different origins. Akashvani’s September 22 account of the Election Commission’s schedule said Uttarakhand member Naresh Bansal’s term ends on November 25. The West Bengal seat became vacant after Mallick resigned. Hindusthan Samachar’s October 4 report dates that resignation to July 16. These earlier events explain the contests; the new development is the BJP’s choice of candidates.
The Indian Express and the earlier election-schedule coverage identify October 16 as polling day. ANI’s September 22 report gives October 6 as the nomination deadline, October 7 for scrutiny and October 9 for withdrawals. Polling is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with counting from 5 p.m. on October 16. These are scheduled procedural steps, not completed events.
The wider Rajya Sabha schedule also includes ten seats from Uttar Pradesh, but the notice reviewed here selects candidates only for Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The reviewed material does not establish that Arya’s or Mallick’s nomination papers have been accepted, or that either contest has been decided without polling.