BJP renominates 5 Union Ministers for Rajya Sabha poll

KV Prasad

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 29

The BJP on Sunday renominated five Union Ministers — Birender Singh, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi — and party vice-presidents Om Prakash Mathur and Purushottam Rupala among 12 others to the Rajya Sabha for the upcoming biennial elections.

Union Urban Development Minister Naidu was among the four nominated from Rajasthan after shifting him from Karnataka amid a social media campaign against his representation from the state.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh will be a candidate from Haryana, Power Minister Piyush Goyal from Maharashtra and Minister of State of Parliamenatry Affairs Naqvi from Jharkhand.

The party also shifted Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from Andhra Pradesh to Karnataka as there were some issues with its ally Telugu Desam Party which was unwilling to accommodate her from the state.

The BJP decided to re-nominate sitting MP Anil Dave from Madhya Pradesh, former  Chhattisgarh Minister Ram Vichar Netam and former Bihar state president Gopal Narayan Singh from their respective states.

Rajasthan will also have two new candidates, Harsh Vardhan Singh and Ram Kumar Verma.