Haryana: BJP’s Krishan Panwar Resigns From Rajya Sabha After Winning Assembly Seat

Chandigarh: A senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Krishan Panwar, who was the BJP’s newly elected legislator from Israna assembly seat, on Monday resigned from Rajya Sabha.

A six-time legislator Panwar was a BJP Rajya Sabha member from Haryana since 2022. A prominent Dalit leader, Panwar was specially picked up by BJP to contest the recent state assembly election from the Israna (reserved) seat. He joined BJP before 2014 polls and was earlier with regional party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Panwar submitted his resignation to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Rajya Sabha chairman, in New Delhi on Monday.

Sources in the party held that Panwar is one of the front runners for a Cabinet berth in the new Cabinet of ministers to be sworn-in at Panchkula on October 17. Panwar who was earlier with the Indian National Lok Dal Dal (INLD) had joined BJP ahead of 2014 assembly elections and was made a minister in the saffron party’s first government headed by the then chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. He was later sent to Rajya Sabha in 2022 with an eye to woo Dalit vote-bank.

Meanwhile, with resignation of Panwar from Rajya Sabha, lobbying has picked up among the BJP leaders for the now-vacant Rajya Sabha seat. Out of Haryana’s total five seats in Rajya Sabha, the state now has three BJP seats – former party state president Subhash Barala, Ram Chander Jangra and Kiran Choudhry, besides, an independent Kartikeya Sharma, who was elected to Rajya Sabha with the support of BJP.