The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced its list of eight candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, scheduled for Oct 16.
In a major reshuffle, the party has dropped all sitting MPs from the state whose terms are expiring, including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma.
With 10 seats falling vacant from Uttar Pradesh, the BJP’s strength in the state assembly positions it to comfortably win eight seats.
Strategic Social Engineering
The new list reflects a calculated focus on social engineering across the state’s diverse demographics. Among the eight candidates announced, three represent OBC, two belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community, two are Brahmin leaders, and one represents the Thakur community. Two women leaders have also been fielded.
Full List of BJP Candidates:
- Dharmpal Singh
- Prakash Pal
- Shruti Gangwar
- Vidyasagar Sonkar
- Priyanka Singh Rawat
- Radhakant Ojha
- Gopi Krishna Pandey
- Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan
Focus on Regional Leadership
By opting for local organisational leaders, legal experts, and state cabinet members over sitting central ministers, the BJP leadership has signalled a strategic pivot toward empowering ground-level regional leadership in Uttar Pradesh ahead of upcoming electoral cycles.
Voting for the 10 seats will take place on Oct 16, with results expected the same evening.
