Rajya Sabha nominations: BJP has new faces, inductees; Congress lists mostly new

PM Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah, who took the final decision from a long list of aspirants, appear to have rewarded a young lot considered close to the top leadership. While BJP national media cell head Anil Baluni will contest from his home state of Uttarakhand, party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao has been fielded from Uttar Pradesh.

Among the candidates from UP, from where the party is in a position to elect eight MPs, prominent is Ashok Bajpai. He is one of the founder members of the Samajwadi Party and a seven-term MLA. Bajpai, a Brahmin leader from Hardoi, joined the BJP last year. Harnath Singh Yadav, a former MLC, too came from the SP (in 2007); his Yadav community is a strong support base of the SP.

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Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, another UP candidate, is a prominent farmers’ leader. Kanta Kardam belongs to the Jatav community, a strong support base of the BSP. Another nomination from a backward group is Sakal Deep Rajbhar, state executive member from Balia, who belongs to the Rajbhar caste that constitutes a large population in eastern UP.

Anil Jain, BJP general secretary who handled Haryana, will contest from UP; Saroj Pandey, general secretary who handled Maharashtra, is set to be elected from her home state, Chhattisgarh.

The selection of Meena, whose equations with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are known to have been strained, is seen as an initiative against perceived anti-incumbency. With Sachin Pilot, a Gujjar, leading the Congress, the BJP is trying to consolidate the Meena community, said BJP sources.

In Haryana, the BJP has nominated D P Vats, a retired Lt General. Vats, who served in the Jat regiment for five years, was also chairman of Haryana Public Service Commission during the last Congress regime, and served as Commandant of Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.

The decision to nominate V Muraleedharan, former Kerala state party chief, is seen as part of efforts to launch an aggressive mission in the state ruled by the Left. Muraleedharan’s nomination — and likely election from Maharashtra — could please the Ezhavas, who represent a significant section of Hindus in Kerala. The BJP has already formed an alliance with Bharath Dharma Jana Sena, the party formed by Ezhava leader and leader of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam. There were reports that the party could offer the RS seat to BDJS leader Tushar Vellappally to placate the ally, miffed with the BJP for some time.

BJP sources said the decision to field Muraleedharan and Narayan Rane could upset the two state units.

The party announced eight Union ministers earlier, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (Uttar Pradesh) Dharmendra Pradhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Ravi Shankar Prasad (Bihar).

Bihar

In Bihar, where six seats are up for grabs, BJP ally JD(U) has now named Mahendra Prasad and B N Singh. JD(U) spokesperson K C Tyagi might be in consideration later, for the seat held by Sharad Yadav.

The RJD has nominated its national spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha and owner of a private medical college, Ashfaq Karim, while the Congress is eyeing the sixth seat with RJD support. Sources said the nominee could be former MP Akhilesh Singh.

Sources said the NDA might field a seventh candidate against the Congress as it has 21 votes to spare and hopes to get support of three independents. But the NDA would still need 11 more. “There is where former PCC president Ashok Choudhary, who joined JD(U) recently, would be tested. He can fuel dissidence in Congress,” said a JD(U) source.

BJP’s 18

UP: Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Dr Anil Jain, G V L Narasimha Rao, Harnath Singh Yadav
Maharashtra: Narayan Rane, V Muraleedharan
Rajasthan: Kirodi Lal Meena, Madan Lal Saini
MP: Kailash Soni, Ajay Pratap Singh
Uttarakhand: Anil Baluni
Chhattsigarh: Saroj Pandey
Karnataka: Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Haryana: Lt Gen (retd) D P Vats
Jharkhand: Sameer Uranv

(Wth Santosh Singh in Patna)