BJP names 8 candidates for Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls

The Bharatiya Janata Party's Central Election Committee on Monday approved the names of eight candidates, including Uttar Pradesh minister Dharampal Singh, for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the state.

The other nominees are Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar.

Elections to 12 Rajya Sabha seats across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal will be held on October 16. This includes 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh, one from Uttarakhand and a bypoll to one seat from West Bengal. The terms of the sitting members from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand end on November 25.


Among the Rajya Sabha members retiring from Uttar Pradesh are BJP leaders Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal, B L Verma, Seema Dwivedi and Hardeep Singh Puri, along with Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP's Ramji Gautam.

The Rajya Sabha seat held by former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma has also been vacant since September 11, when his resignation took effect following his appointment as lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

(With inputs from PTI)