© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The BJP has conveyed to senior leaders of the party, particularly those who are now into their third term in the Rajya Sabha, that they will have to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections, to earn their place in Parliament. They include leaders who are currently serving as Cabinet ministers.
According to sources, the choice of the seat has been left to them.
“The decision was taken at an organisational meeting chaired by the party’s national leadership on Wednesday. Barring an exception or two, this will hold true for all,” a party source said.
The leader gave the example of the recent Assembly elections, where the BJP fielded as many as 18 MPs, including four Union ministers, across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. “It gave very good results,” the leader said, adding: “At least two party stalwarts, including at least one incumbent Union minister, are expected to be fielded from Delhi.”
Central ministers who are Rajya Sabha MPs include Minister of State, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar; Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal; Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman; External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar; Minister of Education and Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan; Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav; Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri; Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya; Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala; Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw; Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia; and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Minister Narayan Rane.
Chandrasekhar and Sitharaman from Karnataka, in addition to Goyal from Maharashtra and Rupala from Gujarat, are among nine BJP leaders currently in their third Rajya Sabha terms. This list also includes former Union minister Prakash Javadekar.
BJP president J P Nadda is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, from Himachal Pradesh.
