Hardeep Singh Puri to stay Union minister as BJP fields him for Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh

BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri will continue as a Union minister. The party has named him its Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh. He is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, and his present term ends on November 25. On Wednesday, the BJP announced Puri as its candidate for the seat vacated by the resignation of L. Murugan.

Voting for the Rajya Sabha election in Madhya Pradesh will be held on November 12. Puri has been petroleum minister in the Modi government since 2021. Some time ago, the BJP had announced its candidates for the Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh. Puri's name was not on that list, so questions had begun to be raised about his place as a Union minister. All eyes were on this. Talk of an expansion of the Modi Cabinet was also gathering pace, and it was being speculated that Puri might not remain in the Union Cabinet. His path to the Rajya Sabha is now clear, and the speculation has been put to rest.

L. Murugan, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu and a former Union minister, had recently resigned his Rajya Sabha seat. In his resignation, he said he now wanted to focus on politics in the state. The Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh then fell vacant, and the BJP has given Puri the opportunity.

The decision comes at a time when tension between Iran and the United States has kept the oil market uncertain. The decision to send Puri back to the Rajya Sabha was taken in this climate. India has also taken several diplomatic steps over the purchase of oil.

Puri has been named the BJP's candidate for the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha seat. He is Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. His current term as a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh ends on November 25, 2026.