Speculations over nominations for the biennial polls to the Rajya Sabha have been mounting with several names on the final lists either confirming those speculations or clearing them for good. On Sunday, the BJP announced a list of 14 candidates for the polls, those who made the cut include former Union Ministers R.P.N Singh, and Sudhanshu Trivedi. They are the only outgoing MP's renominated by the party. Notably, R.P.N Singh had joined the BJP only ahead of the Assembly Polls in 2022 making several comment over social media on the overt give and take nature of the relationship between him and the saffron party. With 28 members of the BJP set to retire, the list includes names from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Bihar.
Several reports have put forward the speculation that Union Ministers who are Rajya Sabha members are being put forward and told to contest the Lok Sabha polls. With only two of the outgoing MP's being renominated, confirms those speculations. Sadhna Singh, Tejveer Singh, Amarpal Maurya, Sangita Balwamt and Navin Jain are the other BJP nominees from Uttar Pradesh, apart from R.P.N Singh and Sudhanshu Trivedi. Other names in the list include Narayansa K Bhandage from Karnataka and Devendra Pratap Singh from Chhattisgarh.
Congress could go with Sonia Gandhi, Raghuram Rajan
While yet to formally announce its list of nominees for the Upper House, Congress will most likely go with its matriarch Sonia Gandhi and former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. The strong rumors also emanate from the fact that Gandhi is not likely to contest the LS polls and hence she may come to RS from Himachal. Many reports speculate that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might also be nominated from the hill state. Some of the other prominent names from Congress eyeing a spot in the Upper House are Congress treasurer Ajay Maken, spokesperson Pawan Khera, former union minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, lawyer Abhishek Mani Singhvi and Arun Yadav.
Trinamool Congress
On Sunday, Trinamool Congress too announced its Rajya Sabha poll nominees with names including Sushmita Dev, Md Nadimul Haque, Mamata Bala Thakur, and Sagarika Ghose. Ghose, a journalist and an author being nominated came in for divisive opinions and caught attention on social media. While Ghose is yet to officially join the TMC, she will most likely be the party's voice in national media. Social media was quick to remind how TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had angrily stormed out of a TV show hosted by Ghose after being asked a difficult question.
As per the proportions in the Assembly, four TMC candidates and one from the BJP will be elected to the Rajya Sabha. Ghose is not the only journalist being nominated, another journalist Mohammad Nadimul Haque, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP has also been nominated. Sushmita Dev, a former Congress leader who joined the TMC in 2021 has also been nominated. Mamata Bala Thakur, who belongs to the politically significant Matua community in West Bengal, also makes the cut. Scheduled to be held on 27 February, elections for 56 Raya Sabha seats are spread across 15 states.
