THE BJP central election committee on Friday decided to re-nominate former Union minister C P Thakur and party vice-president Prabhat Jha for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections. The fate of party chief whip in the Upper House Prakash Javadekar and spokesperson Shaina NC hangs in balance with the party withholding the name of its candidate from Maharashtra. Javadekar’s Rajya Sabha term is heading for an end. While Shaina is also seeking the ticket for the sole seat which the BJP can win from the state, the central leadership is inclined to accommodate RPI leader Ramdas Athawale due to a forceful request from Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. The name of Nirmala Sitharaman is also in circulation from Gujarat. The two nominees from Rajasthan are ex-minister Ram Narain Dudi and Narayan Pansariya. For the second seat from Madhya Pradesh, the high command has chosen ex-Union minister Satyararain Jatiya. The BJP is in a position to win a second seat from Bihar. This has gone to businessman R K Sinha, considered close to party leader Murli Manohar Joshi. The term of office of 55 members of the Rajya Sabha expires between April 2 and 12, but election process has been advanced by EC in view of the Lok Sabha elections. The filing of nominations started Tuesday and will continue till January 28. The scrutiny will take place on January 29 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is January 31. Polling, if required, will be held on February 7.
