New Delhi: The BJP has dropped all eight sitting Rajya Sabha MPs, including Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, for the October 16 Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh.
Of the eight candidates announced on Monday, two are women — former Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and Shruti Gangwar, Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar’s daughter.
Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan were the others.
Ten Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant in Uttar Pradesh, eight of which are currently held by the BJP, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) hold one each.
According to party insiders, the exclusion of senior minister Puri, who was expected to be retained, could be an indication that a long-speculated reshuffle in the Central Council of Ministers is on the cards.
With Assembly polls in one of the most politically-important state due next year, BJP has opted for a combination of caste representation and organisational experience for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election.
The saffron party’s list includes three OBC candidates, two Scheduled Caste candidates and three upper-caste candidates.