Rajya Sabha: Bhubaneshwar Kalita, Biswajit Daimari along with 9 others nominated by BJP & allies

March 11: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced Rajya Sabha candidates for the upcoming polls. Elections to 55 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on March 26. The BJP announced the names of its nine Rajya Sabha candidates, including former Congress leader Bhubaneswar Kalita from Assam, and allotted two seats to its allies, including Dalit leader and Union minister Ramdas Athawale from Maharashtra and Biswajit Daimary from BPF, an ally of BJP in Assam.

Jyotiraditya Scindia has been named by the BJP for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh. The announcement came shortly after the 49-year-old four-time Lok Sabha MP joined the BJP.  Rajendra Gehlot is chosen from Rajasthan. Vivek Thakur has been named from Bihar while Abhay Bharadwaj and Rameelaben Bara have been chosen from Gujarat. Here is the full list:

A meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) was held at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday evening to decide the candidates for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief JP Nadda and other members of the CEC. The last date for filing nominations for 55 Rajya Sabha seats, which will fall vacant in April, is March 13. The vacancies are spread across 17 states. Counting will be held on the evening of March 26, an hour after the conclusion of polls.