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BJP Names Eight Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha Candidates, Drops Incumbents

BJP Names Eight Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha Candidates, Drops Incumbents
Who are BJP’s 8 Rajya Sabha picks from UP? Party drops sitting MPs, strikes caste balance ahead of polls · theprint.in

The BJP has chosen eight people to run for Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh.

It did not choose any of its current MPs again.

The choices include people from several caste groups, and two of the candidates are women.

Some have held elected office, while others have worked for the party or in law.

The elections for 10 seats are scheduled for October 16.

A candidate needs 37 votes to win a seat.

Based on the current numbers, the BJP-led alliance is expected to win eight seats and the Samajwadi Party two.

The SP could make the contest more difficult if it puts forward a third candidate.

Key facts

BJP candidates
Dharampal Singh, Prakash Pal, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, Radhakant Ojha and Shruti Gangwar.
Caste distribution
Three OBC candidates, two Dalits and three general-category candidates.
Women candidates
Two: Priyanka Singh Rawat and Shruti Gangwar.
Seats being contested
10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
Election date
October 16.
Votes needed to win
37.
Current seat outlook
The NDA is positioned to win eight seats and the Samajwadi Party is expected to win two, based on current Assembly numbers.
SP candidates named
Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani.

Quotes

Senior UP BJP leader

A senior leader in the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP

“Except Priyanka Rawat, most of the names initially proposed by the state organisation were not considered. The central leadership appears to have researched the names independently and may also have taken feedback from the RSS before finalising the candidates. Most of the big names are missing, but the caste balance has been maintained.”
theprint.in

Sources

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