1. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the current Railways minister, has been selected as the BJP’s Rajya Sabha nominee from Odisha.
2. The nomination aligns with the BJP’s efforts to bolster its presence in the Upper House of Parliament.
3. The upcoming elections on February 27 will determine Vaishnaw’s re-entry into the Rajya Sabha.
Bhubaneswar Feb 14: Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has been nominated as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajya Sabha candidate from Odisha in the upcoming elections scheduled for February 27.
This move is part of the BJP’s strategy to secure its representation in the Upper House of Parliament. Vaishnaw, who previously served as an IAS officer in Odisha before joining politics, was elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state in 2019 with the support of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
Speculation arose regarding Vaishnaw’s re-election to the Rajya Sabha after the BJD did not announce a third candidate for the vacant seats. With only 22 MLAs in the Odisha Assembly, the BJP would require the support of the BJD, which holds considerable strength in the state, to ensure Vaishnaw’s victory.
In Odisha, a candidate needs a minimum of 37 votes to secure one Rajya Sabha seat.
Vaishnaw’s current term as a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha is set to conclude in April this year. Despite his affiliation with the BJP, he received the backing of the BJD in 2019, following requests from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced his party’s support to Vaishnaw, facilitating his election to the Upper House.
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The BJP’s list of candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections includes Madhya Pradesh and Odisha nominees. In addition to Vaishnaw from Odisha, the candidates announced for Madhya Pradesh are Dr. L Murugan, Umesh Nath Maharaj, Maya Naroliya, and Bansilal Gurjar.
Previously, the BJP had unveiled 14 names for the Rajya Sabha polls, covering states such as Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
Candidate list of the BJP for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election
In the second list, the BJP announced Madhya Pradesh and Odisha candidates.
- Madhya Pradesh: Dr L Murugan, Umesh Nath Maharaj, Maya Naroliya, Bansilal Gurjar
- Odisha: Ashwini Vaishnaw Earlier, the BJP announced 14 names for the Rajya Sabha election.
- Bihar: Dr Dharmsheela Gupta, Dr Bhim Singh Chhattisgarh: Raja Devendra Pratap Singh
- Haryana: Subhash Barala Karnataka: Narayana Krishanasa Bhandage
- Uttar Pradesh: Sudhanshu Trivedi, RPN Singh, Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, Sadhna Singh, Amarpal Maurya, Sangita Balwant, Navin Jain
- Uttarakhand: Mahendra Bhatt
- West Bengal: Samik Bhattacharya
