Rajya Sabha nominations: BJP president JP Nadda to take Gujarat route, Ashwini Vaishnaw Odisha

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, February 14

The BJP is gearing up to field several top guns in the 2024 General Election with only four of the outgoing 28 Rajya Sabha members bagging party renomination today.

Among those renominated are party president JP Nadda, Union Railway and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MoS Information and Broadcasting L Murugan and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi.

Top guns in fray

• MP: L Murugan, Umesh Maharaj, Maya Naroliya, Bansilal Gurjar
• Odisha: Ashwini Vaishnaw
• Gujarat: Nadda, diamond trader Govindbhai Dholakia, Mayankbhai Nayak, Jashvantsinh Parmar
• Maharashtra: Ashok Chavan, Medha Kulkarni, Ajit Gopchhade (kar sewak in Ram Mandir stir)

Nadda, whose second RS term from Himachal Pradesh ends this year, has been renominated from Gujarat as the party doesn’t have the numbers in Himachal; Vaishnaw from Odisha; Murugan from Madhya Pradesh and Trivedi from Uttar Pradesh. Importantly, the ruling BJD in Odisha has announced support to Vaishnaw. Former Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Milind Deora who jumped the ship recently have been made NDA nominees from Maharashtra.

Chavan has been fielded by the BJP and Deora by the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. Former Maharashtra CM Chavan bagged the saffron nomination a day after joining the BJP, while Deora had joined the Shiv Sena on January 14.

Top union ministers who have not been renominated include Bhupender Yadav and Mansukh Mandaviya who complete their second term from Rajasthan and Gujarat, respectively, this year; Rajeev Chandrashekhar, who completes his third term from Karnataka in 2024, Parshottam Rupala, V Muraleedharan and Narayan Rane.

Former minister Prakash Javadekar, BJP media chief Anil Baluni, former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi have also not figured among the BJP candidates for the February 27 biennial election to fill 56 RS seats.

Those who have missed the RS race are expected to contest the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP had earlier decided that the RS members who have completed two terms should contest the General Election and prove their mettle in the electoral landscape.

Nadda is the only BJP MP to be renominated to the RS despite completing two terms. Other renominations involve one-term Rajya Sabha members.

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