The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday nominated its national general secretary and party in-charge for J&K, Tarun Chugh, as a candidate for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections from Madhya Pradesh, while announcing nominees for five other states and a by-election in Odisha.
According to a party release, the BJP has fielded Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal from Madhya Pradesh; Tai Tagak from Arunachal Pradesh; Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansingh Parmar and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya from Gujarat; A. Sharda Devi from Manipur; and Alka Gurjar and Satish Poonia from Rajasthan.
For the Rajya Sabha by-election from Odisha, the party has nominated Debashish Samantaray.
Chugh, a prominent BJP leader from Punjab and a key member of the party’s national leadership, has been entrusted with several important organisational responsibilities, including overseeing the party’s affairs in Jammu and Kashmir.
The announcement comes ahead of the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections for 24 seats across several states.
According to political observers, the BJP-led NDA is expected to secure a majority of the seats at stake, while the Congress-led opposition bloc is also likely to register gains in some states.
The contests in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan are being closely watched and are being seen as the first significant national political test after the recent Assembly elections. Rajya Sabha members are elected through proportional representation by elected members of state legislative assemblies.
