The BJP on Monday announced eight candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, opting for a fresh set of nominees and leaving out Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, whose terms in the Upper House are ending.
The party’s list includes Uttar Pradesh minister Dharampal Singh, senior advocate Radhakant Ojha, state BJP OBC Morcha chief Prakash Pal, former MP Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, former Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Singh Rawat, BJP state general secretary Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar.
The BJP has not renominated any of its outgoing UP members. Besides Puri and Verma, the list excludes Arun Singh, Seema Dwivedi, Neeraj Shekhar, Brij Lal and Geeta Shakya.
Puri’s exclusion has drawn particular attention because his Rajya Sabha tenure ends in November. His absence from the list has also triggered speculation within political circles about possible changes in the Union Council of Ministers, although the BJP has not announced any such decision.
The elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held on October 16, with nominations closing on October 6. The BJP-led alliance is in a position to secure seven seats comfortably and is seeking to win an eighth, which could depend on additional support or cross-voting.
The candidate list reflects a mix of caste groups and organisational backgrounds as the BJP prepares for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The eight nominees comprise three OBC candidates, two Scheduled Caste candidates and three from the upper-caste category. Two of the nominees are women.
Among the OBC faces is Prakash Pal, who heads the BJP’s OBC Morcha in Uttar Pradesh and has held organisational responsibilities in the Kanpur-Bundelkhand region.
Vidyasagar Sonkar, one of the Scheduled Caste nominees, is a BJP leader from Jaunpur and has previously served as an MP and MLC. He has also held organisational positions within the party and served as deputy leader in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
The selection also gives representation to different regions of the state, with party leaders describing the choices as a combination of social, regional and organisational considerations.
The BJP has included former Barabanki MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and Shruti Gangwar in its eight-member list.
Rawat, a senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leader, previously represented Barabanki in the Lok Sabha. She defeated Congress leader PL Punia in the 2014 general election and has since held organisational responsibilities within the state unit.
Gangwar, the daughter of Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar, is associated with the Bareilly-Baheri region. She has an IIT background and heads the Urban Cooperative Bank in Bareilly.
Her nomination adds another woman to the BJP’s proposed Rajya Sabha representation from the state and brings a relatively younger organisational face into the party’s Upper House lineup.
The remaining three candidates come from upper-caste communities, including two Brahmins and one Rajput.
Radhakant Ojha is a senior advocate associated with the Allahabad High Court and has twice served as president of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association.
Gopi Krishna Pandey is a BJP organisational leader with experience in grassroots party work.
Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, another organisational face, is a BJP state general secretary and has been associated with the party’s western Uttar Pradesh organisation. He earlier served as an MLA from Etmadpur in Agra between 2017 and 2022.
The decision to replace its outgoing Rajya Sabha members marks a significant change in the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh strategy for the Upper House.
The party’s new list gives considerable space to state-level leaders, organisational workers and representatives of different social groups rather than returning incumbent MPs.
The outcome will be decided on October 16, when voting takes place for the 10 vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. The terms of the current members end on November 25.
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