Samajwadi Party’s surprise candidate for RS polls: Reliance executive Nathwani Junior

Who is Dhanraj Nathwani

Nathwani, 40, is the son of Director, Corporate Affairs for Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Parimal Nathwani, who was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand as an NDA-backed Independent in the June 2026 election, securing his fourth consecutive term in the Upper House.

Referring to Dhanraj Nathwani, Akhilesh said he was happy that the SP got an opportunity to send a person from the new generation to the Upper House. “Many parties have a footprint in the corporate world. So the Samajwadi Party has also decided to have a Rajya Sabha MP to connect with the business world,” he said.

Nathwani, who thanked the SP chief for his nomination, is a senior corporate executive of the Reliance Industries.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he is currently group president at the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate, and also a director of Reliance New Energy Ltd and Reliance Projects & Property Management Services Ltd.

He oversees the group’s Jamnagar manufacturing division, one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical complexes, and also works with Reliance Jio in Gujarat.

Nathwani also leads the engineering, procurement, and construction vertical and supervises all construction and infrastructure projects in the Reliance ecosystem. He also oversees Reliance Jio Defence System Ltd, which focuses on high-tech manufacturing of advanced military equipment and aerospace propulsion systems.

He has been associated with Reliance Industries for about 16 years, and has held various senior positions.

Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani files his nomination papers for Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand on June 8. (File)

Nathwani has also been associated with sports administration. He is currently the president of the Gujarat Cricket Association, which runs the Narendra Modi stadium, succeeding Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He is also  a member of the Gujarat State Wildlife Board.

An official release from the Reliance Group stated, “Nathwani serves as board member of Reliance Corporate IT Park Ltd and drives critical manufacturing and business verticals of RIL, bringing extensive experience across industry, infrastructure and emerging technologies.”

Nathwani is also vice chairman of Dwarkadhish Temple Administrative Committee in Dwarka and member of Nathdwara Temple Board. He is also a member of Board of Governors of Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gandhinagar founded by Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani who also chairs the university.

“I express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the honourable national president Shri Akhilesh Yadav Ji for nominating me as the Samajwadi Party candidate for Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh”, Nathwani wrote on X in Hindi after filing his nomination papers accompanied by Akhilesh.

A total of 10 Rajya Sabha seats are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh on October 16. This election comes months before the state Assembly polls and would be seen as an indicator of political equations as the parties prepare for the big fight.

In the 403-member UP Assembly, the ruling BJP-led NDA has 291 MLAs, including the BJP’s 255. With the support of Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik), which has two MLAs, the alliance’s effective strength is 293. The main Opposition SP has 101 MLAs, and its ally, Congress, has two.

Based on the current strength, both the SP candidates can sail through while the NDA has the numbers to win the remaining eight seats.

Nathwani’s nomination has created a lot of buzz among political circles in Gujarat, his home state, including in the ruling BJP camp.