BJP names eight Uttar Pradesh candidates for Rajya Sabha polls, two of them women
The BJP's Central Election Committee has released its list for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections; voting for the seats is on October 16.
The Central Election Committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party has released a list of eight candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections. Two women have been given tickets.
According to the list, the candidates are Dharmpal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar.
Biennial elections will be held for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh and one in Uttarakhand, while a bypoll will be held for one seat in West Bengal. Voting on all these seats will take place on October 16. The terms of 11 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand end in November 2026, which is why elections are being held there.
The West Bengal seat is already vacant. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Rukmini Mallick resigned from it on July 16. Her term was to run until April 2, 2032. The bypoll will now be held for this vacant seat.
According to the Election Commission, the last date for filing nominations is October 6. Nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 7, and candidates can withdraw until Friday, October 9. Voting will be held on October 16 from 9 am to 4 pm, and counting will begin at 5 pm the same day. The entire election process will run until October 19.
The Election Commission has also set a special rule for these elections. After asking for a ballot paper, voters may mark it only with an integrated violet-coloured sketch pen, which will be provided by the returning officer. A vote cast with any other pen will not be valid.
The commission said observers will be appointed to ensure that the elections are free and fair, and that the election process will be closely monitored.
