The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced another list of 7 candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls from western states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Notably, party president JP Nadda has been nominated from Gujarat. Ashok Chavan, who switched from the Congress party just two days back, has been nominated from Maharashtra.
Candidates from Gujarat:
1) J.P. Nadda
2) Govind Dholakia
3) Mayank Nayak
4) Jashvantsinh Salamsinh Parmar
Candidates from Maharashtra:
1) Ashok Chavan
2) Medha Kulkarni
3) Dr. Ajit Gopchhade
BJP's candidates for Rajya Sabha so far
Earlier today, the BJP declared its nominees for the upcoming elections, selecting Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw from Odisha and L Murugan from Madhya Pradesh. Alongside Murugan, who serves as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the BJP announced three more candidates from Madhya Pradesh for the state's five vacancies: Umesh Nath Maharaj, Maya Maroliya, and Bansilal Gurjar.
On Sunday, the BJP announced 14 candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls, including former Union minister R P N Singh and Sudhanshu Trivedi, the sole outgoing MP renominated by the party thus far.
Later, the party designated two additional candidates from Rajasthan, omitting outgoing MP and Union minister Bhupender Yadav, who is likely to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
A total of 56 Rajya Sabha members from 15 states are retiring in April, with the election for these seats scheduled for February 27. The deadline for filing nominations is February 15.