BJP announces candidates for Rajya Sabha bypolls; Union Ministers Ravneet Bittu, George Kurian to contest

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypolls, with Union Minister State (MoS) for Railway and Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu set to contest from Rajasthan. George Kurian, Minister of State for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, has also been given a saffron party ticket from Madhya Pradesh.

Further, the list includes former Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, Mamata Mohanta, who quit the Biju Janata Dal to join the BJP earlier this year. She has been given a ticket from her home state.

Kiran Choudhary, former Congress MLA who jumped ship with her daughter Shruti in June this year, will contest the bypolls from Haryana.

Other names on the list include Mission Ranjan Das and Rameshwar Teli, who will contest from Assam; Manan Kumar Mishra, who will contest from Bihar; Dhairyashil Patil, who will contest from Maharashtra; and Rajib Bhattacharjee, who will contest from Tripura.