Seven Union Ministers, whose Rajya Sabha terms end in April, have not been re-nominated by the ruling BJP, sparking speculation that they may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Those missing from the list are Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya (Gujarat), Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (Madhya Pradesh), junior IT Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Karnataka), Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav (Rajasthan), Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala (Gujarat), as well as Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Minister Narayan Rane and junior External Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan, both of whom represented Maharashtra.
Reports indicate that all seven BJP heavyweights could be fielded from Lok Sabha constituencies in various states. Sources suggest Pradhan may be fielded from Sambalpur or Deogarh in his home state of Odisha, while Yadav may run from Rajasthan”s Alwar or Mahendragarh, and Chandrashekhar could contest one of the four seats in Bengaluru; three of these – Central, North, and South – are held by the BJP. Similarly, Mandaviya may run from Bhavnagar or Surat in Gujarat, while Rupala may vie for Rajkot. Meanwhile, Muraleedharan may be fielded from his home state of Kerala; the BJP has no presence there, and may seek to leverage high-profile names to bolster its fortunes.
The BJP has retained only two Union Ministers — Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (Odisha) and junior Fisheries Minister L Murugan (Madhya Pradesh). No outgoing MP who has served two or more terms has been re-nominated, except for BJP chief JP Nadda. He has been moved from Himachal Pradesh, which the Congress won in 2022, to Gujarat. The BJP has made room for new entrants, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who recently defected from the Congress.
The BJP has announced 28 candidates for the 56 seats set to become vacant in April, prioritising new faces. The party released its list of Rajya Sabha candidates for 14 seats on Sunday, including former Congress minister RPN Singh and six others from Uttar Pradesh, as well as a mix of leaders from other states, aimed at balancing caste equations and bolstering organisational strength.
Only four of the 28 outgoing Rajya Sabha MPs being renominated and the rest have reportedly been asked to indicate their preference for Lok Sabha seats.
The voting for Rajya Sabha elections is scheduled for February 27 and counting will take place at 5 pm on the same day. The last date to withdraw nominations is February 20.
Among the notable leaders retiring in this batch are former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, RJD leader Manoj Jha, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi from the Congress, and Amar Patnaik of the BJD.
The four nominated MPs whose terms are concluding are Mahesh Jethmalani, Rakesh Sinha, Sonal Mansingh, and Ram Shakal.
At present, the BJP holds 94 seats in Rajya Sabha, followed by the Congress with 30 seats. Other significant parties include TMC with 13 seats, DMK and AAP with 10 seats each, and the YSRCP and BJD with nine seats each. Meanwhile, K Chandrashekar Rao”s BRS has seven MPs, the RJD has six Rajya Sabha MPs, and the JDU and CPM have five MPs each.
Despite having 94 MPs, the BJP does not command a majority in the Upper House. The effective strength of the Rajya Sabha currently stands at 239, with four seats from Jammu and Kashmir and two of the 12 nominated seats remaining vacant.
A total of eight Rajya Sabha MPs will retire in 2025 and 73 more will retire in 2026.
