BJP names 11 candidates for Rajya Sabha elections. Check full list

THe Bharatiya Janata company (BJP) on th proclaimed the names of 11 candidates for the biyearly elections to the Rajya Sabha, falling two Union ministers, picking a general secretary from Madhya Pradesh, and nominating an associate of former chief minister N Biren Singh from Manipur.Also Read | BJP declares 11 candidates for council pollsBJP's 11 candidatesThe party nominated national general secretary Tarun Chugh from Madhya Pradesh along with Rajneesh Agrawal, who is a spokesperson and in charge of the party’s booth management cell.Chugh has overseen various campaigns and has been in charge of Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, Ladakh and the BJP’s SC Morcha. The BJP is expecting two of the three seats going to polls in Madhya Pradesh.Chugh and Agrawal replace Union ministers George Kurien and Ravneet Singh Bittu who have not been re-nominated to the Upper House amid speculation that the latter will contest the upcoming Punjab assembly polls.Also Read | After intense tussle, BJP keeps 11 seats, Sena gets four and NCP two in council pollsBJP to make change in council of ministersThis is an indication that the party will make changes in the council of ministers as well, since ministers have to be members of either House of Parliament.“Earlier (Lok Sabha MPs) and Union ministers Pankaj Chaudhary and Harsh Malhotra were appointed as the president of Uttar Pradesh unit and the Delhi unit…and if the party enforces one man, one post then there are at least four new faces expected in the council of ministers,” said a person aware of the details.Check full listTo be sure, JP Nadda was both a Union minister and the BJP chief till January 26.From Manipur, the party nominated A Sharada Devi, the state unit chief and a Meitei, for the lone seat. She was appointed party chief in June 2021 and became the first woman in the state to hold the post. Earlier, there was speculation that the party might nominate Biren Singh.From Arunachal Pradesh, the party nominated Tai Tagak.In Gujarat, where the BJP is likely to win all four seats that have fallen vacant, the party nominated Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Jitendra Kanzariya and Mansing Parmar.Shukla is a Mehsana-based BJP organiser and former Kadi Nagarpalika chief. Rathwa is a tribal leader from Chhotaudepur and former Yuva Morcha state vice-president. Kanzariya is a former Zila Panchayat executive member and son of former BJP MLA Meghji Kanzariya from Khambhalia. While Parmar heads BJP’s Gujarat OBC Morcha.In Rajasthan, where the party is expecting two of the three seats that have fallen vacant, the BJP nominated Alka Gurjar and former state unit chief Satish Poonia. Debasish Samantray, who recently switched sides from the Biju Janata Dal to the BJP, was nominated from Odisha. BJP’s ally the TDP will also announce the nominations for the four seats falling vacant in Andhra Pradesh. While the TDP will get three, the fourth is expected to be given to the Jana Sena, also an NDA ally.The elections to fill 24 seats that have fallen vacant will be held on June 18. Of the 24 seats, the BJP has 12, the Congress has four, the YSRCP three and the TDP one. The National Democratic Alliance, which is already the biggest coalition in the upper House, is expecting its numbers to increase after this round of elections.