There’s no mention of Smriti Irani, who was recently appointed as BJP General Secretary, marking her return to the party’s front line of leaders. There’s no Hardeep Puri either. The Union Minister who was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
This as the BJP on Monday afternoon announced the names of eight candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in UP.
BJP sources said the party approved the names of these eight candidates keeping in mind social, regional and caste combinations.
The BJP had decided not to award Rajya Sabha tickets to leaders who had lost Lok Sabha elections, according to party sources. This is why Smriti Irani (who lost from Amethi), Harish Dwivedi (Basti), Kaushal Kishore (Mohanlalganj), and Sanjeev Balyan (Muzaffarnagar) did not receive tickets, sources said, citing names. He also contested the Lok Sabha elections but lost.
The party has sent Puri to the Rajya Sabha twice. His current Rajya Sabha term ends in November; he could technically remain a minister for six months beyond that. The question is if Puri, the only Sikh minister in the Modi cabinet, will be retained until then, given the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. Now, instead of Verma, Dharampal Singh – a cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath government who also hails from the Lodh community – is being sent to the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier reporting noted: “Heartfelt congratulations to all the esteemed candidates announced today. Union minister Hardeep Puri, who was expected to be named, is not on the list, indicating a rejig at the Centre as well. The Rajya Sabha seat held by former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma has also been vacant since September 11, when his resignation took effect following his appointment as lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Earlier reporting noted: The BJP has announced eight names for the coming Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh, keeping a balance between castes and ensuring election on at least one seat on October 16.
Infinite best wishes for the historic victory of each one of you,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said in a post on X.
Earlier reporting noted: The candidates named include minister Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, former MLC Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, former Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar’s daughter Shruti Gangwar.
