Who is Sagarika Ghose, renowned journalist nominated by Trinamool Congress for Rajya Sabha polls?

The Trinamool Congress has nominated Sagarika Ghose, Sushmita Dev, Mohammed Nadimul Haque, and Mamata Bala Thakur as candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.

The Election Commission has announced that the biennial Rajya Sabha elections, including five seats from West Bengal, will take place on February 27. The retiring members from West Bengal include TMC's Abir Ranjan Biswas, Subhasish Chakraborty, Nadimul Haque and Santanu Sen, along with Congress member Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Haque is set for re-election, and the TMC has nominated Sushmita Dev, who switched from Congress, and former Lok Sabha MP Thakur. Notably, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has also proposed the name of journalist Sagarika Ghose, marking her foray into politics.

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Who is Sagarika Ghose?

• Sagarika Ghose is a senior journalist, columnist, and author.

• Ghose attended St. Stephen's College in New Delhi and earned a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University, where she completed her postgraduate studies in Modern History.

• Ghose started her journalistic journey in 1991 and has contributed to prominent publications such as The Times of India, Outlook, and The Indian Express.

• Notably, she served as a prime-time anchor for BBC World on "Question Time India" and worked as the deputy editor and prime-time news anchor for CNN-IBN.

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• Over the course of her career, Ghose has received several awards in journalism, including the C. H Mohammad Koya National Journalism Award and the Best Anchor Award from the Indian Television Academy.

• Beyond journalism, she is also recognised as an author, having written books like, “The Gin Drinkers”, "Blind Faith" and “Why I Am A Liberal. A Manifesto for Indians Who Believe In Individual Freedom”.

• She has also authored notable biographies, including "Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister," and another one on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was published.

• She is the daughter of Bhaskar Ghose, former director general of Doordarshan. She is married to journalist and news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai.