Hardeep Singh Puri nominated for Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, ending uncertainty over his seat

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday nominated Hardeep Singh Puri as its candidate for Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh, curbing speculation after the petroleum minister's name was not present in the list of members from Uttar Pradesh.

Puri first became a member of the Rajya Sabha in January 2018 from Uttar Pradesh, succeeding former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. His term formally ended on November 25, 2026.

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A retired Indian Foreign Service diplomat, he also served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013. He had fought the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar in 2019, but lost by around 1 lakh votes to Congress' Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

Since 2018, Puri has held senior cabinet minister roles under Narendra Modi's government. He became Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs after Venkaiah Naidu became Vice President. After the 2019 elections, Puri became a Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation.

In the second Modi Ministry, Puri became the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas in 2021 along with the Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs.