BJP RS picks hint at Cabinet reset
The exclusion of key ministers and elevation of new leaders point to changing priorities in the party
The announcement of candidatures for the Rajya Sabha for some of the States by the BJP on Thursday gave enough indications for a major shake-up in the Narendra Modi-led Council of Ministers later this month.
The names of Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian did not figure in the list of BJP candidates. Both ministers’ term in the Upper House ends on June 21. Last week, the party announced another Minister of State, Harsh Malhotra, to head the Delhi state unit of the BJP.
BJP fielded party national general secretary Tarun Chugh from Madhya Pradesh and Satish Poonia from Rajasthan. While Bittu is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, Kurian represents Madhya Pradesh currently in the Upper House. Rajasthan vacancies have come due to the terms of Bittu, Rajendra Gehlot, and Congress MP Neeraj Dangi ending this month.
Nomination of Poonia, who is in charge of Haryana, and Alka Gurjar from Rajasthan is also being seen as a move to reach out to key communities, including Jats and Gurjars.
Party sources said that during the next two days, more names will be announced, which can give further indications of the choices for inclusion in the Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week convened a special meeting where he reviewed the progress of all the ministries as well as departments.
Sources said there are speculations that fresh technocrats and bureaucrats may be part of the governance, and the maximum participation in the new council of ministers, which is imminent now, will see more new and young faces, given the choice of 46-year-old Nitin Nabin to lead the world’s largest party.
Nominations for elections for 27 Rajya Sabha seats are currently underway till June 8. The 10 States where these biennial elections are due by June 18 are Andhra Pradesh (4 seats), Gujarat (4 seats), Karnataka (4 seats), Madhya Pradesh (3 seats), Rajasthan (3 seats), Jharkhand (2 seats), Arunachal Pradesh (1 seat), Manipur (1 seat), Meghalaya (1 seat), Mizoram (1 seat). Additionally, bye-elections are being held for one seat each in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha.
BJP’s central election committee has named Debashish Samantaray as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll from Odisha. Samantaray had recently joined the BJP, quitting the BJD. He was a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha before he quit the party and resigned from the Upper House.
Sources said that party leadership, which had met to discuss the names for RS berths recently, gave more power to the States to figure out the suitable candidates to field in the biennial elections. PM Modi and his entire cabinet were also present in the meeting.
According to the list released by the party, Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansingh Parmar, and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya will contest as BJP candidates from Gujarat, while Rajneesh Agrawal will join the fray from Madhya Pradesh.
The party has fielded A Sharda Devi as its candidate from Manipur and Tai Tagak from Arunachal Pradesh, according to the list released by the party’s national general secretary Arun Singh. Party sources said that Sharda Devi was the sole choice from a total of 18 applications, including Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, received at the State unit. The term for the current Rajya Sabha member from the state, Leishemba Sanajaoba, also ends on June 21.
Congress names seven RS picks
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday announced the list of seven candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, renominating party president Mallikarjun Kharge from Karnataka while also fielding Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan from the State. According to a communication from AICC general secretary, Organisation, KC Venugopal, the Congress has fielded its leader, Meenakshi Natarajan, as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election in Madhya Pradesh. She was a former MP. The party also fielded Praveen Chakravarty for the Rajya Sabha election in Tamil Nadu, besides renominating Neeraj Dangi from Rajasthan. Pranav Jha, who is currently attached to the Congress president, has been nominated from Jharkhand, a Congress press release read.
