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BJP picks 14 names for Rajya Sabha elections
The BJP has released its list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, including former Congress minister RPN Singh and leaders from various states. Notably, sitting ministers are absent from the list. The elections are unlikely to change the balance of power in the House.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday released its list of Rajya Sabha candidates for 14 seats, which include former Congress minister RPN Singh and six others for Uttar Pradesh, and a mix of leaders from other states, aimed at balancing caste equations and boosting organisational morale and strength.
Apart from Singh, the ruling party has accommodated two state presidents and other regional leaders in the list for the Rajya Sabha. The Election Commission will hold polls for 56 seats on February 27, with results to be announced the same day.
Conspicuous by their absence are the names of sitting ministers on the list. Nine Union ministers are among MPs whose terms end in April, including IT and railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (from Odisha), environment minister Bhupender Yadav (Rajasthan), education minister Dharmendra Pradhan (Madhya Pradesh), health minister Mansukh Mandaviya (Gujarat), minister of micro, small and medium enterprises Narayan Rane (Maharashtra) and minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Karnataka).
The terms of BJP president JP Nadda (Himachal Pradesh) and former PM Manmohan Singh (Rajasthan) are also ending in April.
On the whole, these elections are not expected to change the balance between the treasury and the opposition strength in the House.
From Karnataka, the party has nominated Narayana Krishanasa Bhandage as their candidate. A grassroots Sangh leader, he has been associated with the party from the beginning. His candidature suggests union minister Chandrashekhar will contest Lok Sabha elections, possibly from Kerala.
The party has nominated their Uttarakhand unit president Mahendra Bhatt, in place of MP and media in charge Anil Baluni. While there is an unwritten rule of a two-term limit on RS memberships, Baluni may contest Lok Sabha polls or be nominated from some other state.
His colleague from the media department, Sudhanshu Trivedi, will be returning to the Upper House with this re- nomination. “He has delivered for the party with his oration and participation in debates,” said a BJP leader from UP on condition of anonymity. “He is a Brahmin from UP and also defends the party excellently so in his case, it is a reward of merit,” a second party leader said, asking not to be named. Trivedi is close to defence minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh.
In Uttar Pradesh, other candidates are former Congress leader RPN Singh, a three-term OBC (Sainthwar) lawmaker from Padrauna who made a political switch to BJP in 2022, two women including Sadhna Singh, a former lawmaker who courted controversy due to an indecent political remark directed at BSP chief Mayawati, and former Agra mayor and businessman Navin Jain. The other names include Amarpal Maurya, an OBC and BJP’s UP general secretary who is close to deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Chaudhari Tejveer Singh, a three-time Jat MP from Mathura, and Sangeeta Balwant — the only other woman candidate — a former lawmaker who hails from Ghazipur. Sangeeta Balwant belongs to OBC (Bind). “Like always the BJP list is full of surprises but like always the party must have done its homework well for these selections would obviously be aimed at helping the BJP. Take RPN Singh for instance. He is a former Congress leader but also notice that his Sainthwar OBC caste is spread out in several districts of east UP like Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria and Maharajganj,” a party leader said.
“Though there were 10 RS vacancies, the BJP has fielded seven — just about as much as the party’s assembly strength can hold. Unless there are additional names declared, it would seem that BJP won’t spring any surprises in this RS poll as it hasn’t fielded any additional candidate,” a BJP leader said, asking not to be named.
In Haryana, the party has chosen former party president Subhash Barala instead of the incumbent, Lt Gen (retired) DP Vats. Barala is said to be the chief minister’s candidate and is expected to win over Jat votes that make up more than 30% of the votes in the state.
In Bihar, the party has nominated Dharmsheela Gupta and Bhim Singh Chandrwanshi. Both hold significant posts in the state unit with Gupta being state president of the women’s wing and Bhim Singh is ex-minister Bihar and currently state vice president.
Dharamsheela replaces Sushil Kumar Modi, the former deputy chief minister of Bihar, which signals a new generation of Bihar leadership.
The local unit has not been too happy with the return of JD(U) to the party fold and the move is expected to smooth some ruffled feathers.
The BJP state unit in Bengal is happy that their local leader and old Sangh hand Samik Bhattacharjee has been nominated. A former legislator from Basirhat, he is known to be a good orator.
