NEW DELHI: The latest round of the Rajya Sabha elections saw 41 candidates, including BJP president JP Nadda, IT minister Ashwani Vaishnaw, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, winning seats without any opposition.
As the deadline for withdrawing nominations ended on Tuesday, 41 out of 59 candidates virtually secured their wins although the results will be officially announced on February 27. The remaining 15 seats, which comprise 10 for Uttar Pradesh, four for Karnataka and one for Himachal Pradesh, are likely to witness contests, especially in UP and Karnataka, where political rivals have fielded candidates.
In Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is poised to win seven of the 10 seats in this round of the biennial polls, the party has fielded Sanjay Seth to snatch the third seat from the Samajwadi Party. In Karnataka, Janata Dal (Secular) has filed the candidature of Kupendra Swamy to thwart the chances of Congress’ third candidate, GC Chandrasekhar. In Himachal Pradesh, where Congress candidate Abhishek Singhvi has enough votes to win the sole seat, the BJP has fielded Harsh Mahajan.
READ MORE : BJP: Rahul’s comment on Aishwarya Rai insults Kannadiga pride
Nadda, nominated as the party’s candidate from the seat that fell vacant in Gujarat, was elected unopposed. The party president’s term in the BJP has been extended till June. Vaishnaw has been elected for a second time to the Upper House with support from the ruling Biju Janata Dal from Odisha, while minister of state for information and broadcasting L Murugan was elected unopposed from Madhya Pradesh.
There was speculation that both the ministers would contest the Lok Sabha polls from their respective states, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, but the party leadership sprung a surprise by nominating them to the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP only nominated four members, Nadda, Vaishnaw, Murugan and party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, for a second term. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed lawmakers to contest at least one direct election, particularly those who have had two terms and more in the House of Elders, according to people aware of the details who wished to remain unnamed.
From Gujarat, diamond baron Govindbhai Dholakia, party leader Jasvantsinh Parmar and OBC Morcha chief Mayank Nayak were also elected unopposed.
READ MORE : Haryana faces internet shutdown: 10 updates on farmers’ protest
JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha, credited with working behind the scenes for the BJP and JD(U) becoming allies again, was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Honorable Chief Minister and the revered National President of JD (U), Shri @NitishKumar Ji, who has bestowed upon me this opportunity. Committed to the values and ideals established by him in public life, I am dedicated to raising important issues of my region, state, and country in the upper house of Parliament,” Jha said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
