BJP announces candidates for Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls; Hardeep Puri among 8 sitting MPs dropped from candidacy
PTC News Desk: The BJP surprised many on Monday by not re-nominating Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma for the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. The party announced eight candidates but did not retain any of its outgoing MPs.
The BJP has nominated Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar for the October 16 Rajya Sabha elections.
Apart from Puri and Verma, the party has also dropped Arun Singh, Seema Dwivedi, Neeraj Shekhar, Brij Lal and Geeta Shakya from the list. Dinesh Sharma, who earlier represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, is now the Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Puri dropped from candidate list
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has been left out of the BJP's latest list of Rajya Sabha candidates from Uttar Pradesh. Puri's current Rajya Sabha term is due to end on November 25. His name had reportedly been considered for another term.
Puri first entered the Rajya Sabha in 2018 through a by-election after then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar resigned from the Upper House to become Goa's Chief Minister. Puri had joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Union Council of Ministers in 2017 and needed to become a member of Parliament.
He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2020 and continued as a Union minister during the Modi government's second term. He is among the BJP leaders who have completed two terms in the Rajya Sabha. Puri is among several BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh whose terms are ending. The others include Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brij Lal, BL Verma and Seema Dwivedi.
Elections will be held for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh on October 16. The BJP is expected to win eight seats, while the Samajwadi Party is likely to win the remaining two.
Three OBC and two Dalit candidates
The BJP's list includes three OBC candidates, two Scheduled Caste candidates and three candidates from the upper castes. Two of the nominees are women.
The OBC candidates represent the Lodhi, Pal and Kurmi communities. Among the upper-caste candidates, two are Brahmins and one is a Rajput.
The two women candidates are former Barabanki MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and Shruti Gangwar, the daughter of Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar. Rawat won the Barabanki Lok Sabha seat in 2014 by defeating Congress leader PL Punia.
The BJP has also chosen leaders with strong organisational backgrounds, including Prakash Pal and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan.
Pal, who belongs to the OBC Pal community, has earlier headed the BJP's Kanpur-Bundelkhand organisational region. Chauhan was appointed state general secretary in June 2026 and was given responsibility for the Western Uttar Pradesh organisational region in August.
The selection appears to focus on caste representation, regional balance and party organisation as the BJP prepares for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The BJP-led NDA currently has 150 members in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, giving the ruling alliance a clear majority in the Upper House.
- PTC NEWS
