BJP's Rajya Sabha nominees from Rajasthan to file papers on Tuesday

JAIPUR: Three BJP candidates - Vijay Goel, Ram Narain Dudi, and Narain Pachariya - will file nominations for the February 7 Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Tuesday, the last date for filing papers.

The elections are being held on seats vacated by BJP MPs GP Pilania and Om Mathur, and Congress member Prabha Thakur, whose term ends on April 9.

The BJP nominees today visited the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and met Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Former Union minister Goel said he wished Rajasthan to be the number one state with all-round development, under the leadership of the Chief Minister.

"We will try to take up issues related to development of the state in Rajya Sabha," Goel said, adding that party MPs would like to see Narendra Modi as the next Prime Minister.

Two other BJP candidates - Dudi and Panchariya - also told reporters that their priority would be to bring in development to the state, and ensure the party's victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

When contacted, Congress leader in the Assembly Rameshwar Dudi said the party high command had not fielded any candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls from the state yet.

The last date of nominations is January 28. As per the notification, after scrutiny on January 29, the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is January 31.

The BJP with 163 seats in the 200-member state Assembly, the electoral college for the election, is set to bag all three seats.

The elections are likely to be unopposed as the Congress with 21 seats, is unlikely to field its nominee.

So far no one had filed nomination papers, official sources said.