New Delhi, July 9: S Jaishankar, the External Affairs Minister, is most likely to file his candidature for Rajya Sabha from Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Monday morning, but the BJP has yet to make a decision on the nominations for the state’s other two vacant seats.
The BJP’s top decision-making body, the Parliamentary Board, is anticipated to make a decision on the vacated seats shortly, according to sources. “EAM Jaishankar has a very busy schedule and will be travelling overseas in the coming days, including a trip to France with Prime Minister Modi.
He has been asked to file his nomination papers because he is certain to get a Rajya Sabha term from the state,” a top official from Gujarat’s state unit stated.
According to the source, the state unit has provided candidates for the remaining two Rajya Sabha seats, but the choice has not been zeroed in on yet, by the board. In 2019, S Jaishankar was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the government.
He was then nominated to the Upper House to fill the vacancy left by union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar in 2019. The BJP has 156 seats in the 182-seat Gujarat legislature. The party believes it will easily win all three seats.
Apart from Jaishankar, two other Rajya Sabha members from the state are Dinesh Anavadiya and Jugalsinh Lokhandwala. Six West Bengal MPs and one Goan MP are also expected to leave the Rajya Sabha in this batch.
While the tenure of Goa BJP MP Vinay Tendulkar expires on July 28, the BJP is optimistic of regaining the lone seat as well. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Shanta Chetri, and Sushmita Dev of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) are among the six retiring lawmakers from West Bengal.
Pradeep Bhattacharjee, West Bengal’s sole member of Parliament from the Congress party, is also expected to retire next month. Looking at the figures, the TMC is anticipated to take five of the six vacant West Bengal seats, while the BJP is expected to secure one.
The Election Commission stated that the notification for the polls was issued on July 6, with the deadline for filing nominations being July 13. The elections will be held on July 24, and the results will be announced on the same day.
