BJP unveils first list of 9 Rajya Sabha candidates, Nitin Nabin from Bihar to contest

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released the list of nine candidates including its national president Nitin Nabin for the biennial elections of Rajya Sabha.

The party has announced the names of Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar from Bihar, Teresh Gowala and Jogen Mohan from Assam, Laxmi Verma from Chhattisgarh, Sanjay Bhatia from Haryana, Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar from Odisha and Rahul Sinha from West Bengal. Earlier, on February 18, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had announced the schedule for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha to fill 37 vacant seats from 10 states. According to the commission, voting will be held on March 16 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and counting of votes will take place at 5:00 pm on the same day.

The terms of the 37 Council of States members elected from 10 states are set to expire in April 2026. In view of the upcoming vacancies, the Commission has prepared a detailed timetable for the election process. The election notification was issued on February 26. The last date for filing nominations is March 5, while scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on March 6.

Candidates will have the option to withdraw their nominations until March 9. The Commission has clarified that only integrated purple pens with pre-determined specifications, which will be provided by the Returning Officer, will be valid for marking preferences on ballot papers. The Commission has clarified that no other writing instruments will be permitted for this purpose. Observers will be deployed to monitor the entire election process to ensure that the elections are conducted in a transparent and fair manner.

The members whose terms are expiring represent the states of Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana. The Commission stressed the need to strictly adhere to all election guidelines and emphasized that the entire process will be completed within the stipulated timeframe to ensure the fairness of the Rajya Sabha elections.