 "The BJP is looking forward to a majority in the Rajya Sabha (Photo: PTI)")
With eyes at securing a majority in the Upper House, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named nine candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
While the names released on Tuesday include some expected names like Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian, they also include the surprise pick of Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra.
Bittu is being fielded from Rajasthan, Kurian from Madhya Pradesh, and Mishra from Bihar, according to the list released by the BJP.
The other candidates announced are: Mission Ranjan Das and Rameswar Teli from Assam; Kiran Choudhary from Haryana; Dhairyashil Patil from Maharashtra; Mamata Mohanta from Odisha; Rajib Bhattacharjee from Tripura.
Of the 12 seats going to polls, 10 fell vacant as sitting members switched to Lok Sabha during the 2024 general elections. They include Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
BJP eyes at majority in Rajya Sabha
With the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypolls, the BJP is eyeing to secure a majority in the Rajya Sabha, which has eluded the saffron party for more than a decade.
In the Rajya Sabha, the BJP has had to count on unaligned parties like the YSR Congress or the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to gets the legislative agenda cleared. Now, the BJP is looking forward to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to get past the majority mark.
In the 245-member house, the BJP currently has 87 MPs and the NDA has 105. With 12 nominated members who are certainly bound to the ruling party, the number is effectively 117 — just six members short of the majority-mark of 123.