BJP declares second list of 5 candidates for Rajya Sabha polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday released its second list of five candidates, for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. In this list, the saffron camp has named BJP national vice president Dushyant Gautam for contesting the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana. Ramm Chandra Jhangra has also been named as a candidate to contest from Haryana.

Other candidates include Indu Goswami from Himachal Pradesh and Bhagwat Karar from Maharashtra. Sumer Singh Salanki has been named as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh. This comes as a mild surprise, especially since most had predicted that the party would pitch Harsh Chauhan for the seat.

Fifty-five Rajya Sabha seats will go to polls on March 26th and the last date of filing of the nomination is March 13.

The party has also declared, Amrish Bhai Rasiklal Patel, as its candidate for a by-election to Maharashtra Legislative Council.

Earlier on Wednesday, the BJP in its first list announced the names of its nine Rajya Sabha candidates, including former Congress leader Bhubaneswar Kalita from Assam, and allotted two seats to its allies, including Dalit leader and Union minister Ramdas Athawale from Maharashtra.

Jyotiraditya Scindia was on Wednesday named as one of the Rajya Sabha candidates for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, moments after the rebel Congress leader ended his 18-year-long association with the grand old party and was formally inducted into the saffron camp.

BJP general secretary Arun Singh said that the list of candidates was finalized in a meeting of the party`s Central Election Committee on Tuesday, which was chaired by party chief JP Nadda, and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior ministers and leaders.

In the 245-member Upper House, members from 17 states are set to retire. The BJP has only 82 members in the Rajya Sabha, well short of the 120 required for a simple majority. Though the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 97 seats.

Attaining the magic figures of 120 may not only be unpragmatic but also highly ambitious for the BJP. But it definitely wants to better its tally from the current 82.

(INputs and image from dnaindia.com)