NEW DELHI: A meeting of the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday deliberated on candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 18 for 24 seats across 10 states.
The meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Nitin Nabin, and Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha J P Nadda, among others. This will be the second round of Rajya Sabha elections this year, following the first phase held on March 17 for 37 seats in 10 states. A third round is likely to be held in November.
The terms of 11 BJP Rajya Sabha MPs are ending this time, and the party is expected to retain a significant number of these seats. According to party estimates, the BJP and its NDA partners are projected to secure 17 of the 24 Rajya Sabha seats.
The BJP expects to win four seats in Gujarat, two of the three seats in MP, three in Rajasthan, one seat in Andhra Pradesh, either through support from the TDP or Jana Sena Party, two in Manipur, one in Arunachal Pradesh, and potentially one seat in Karnataka.
Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled for four seats in Andhra Pradesh, four in Gujarat, two in Jharkhand, three in MP, one in Manipur, one in Meghalaya, three in Rajasthan, four in Karnataka, one in Mizoram and one in Arunachal Pradesh.
The CEC also reviewed candidatures for Legislative Council elections in Bihar and other states. The biennial election for 16 seats of Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) is set to be held on June 18. After the meeting, the CEC approved the names of candidates for Maharashtra MLC seats from the local authorities’ constituencies. In Bihar, the MLC seat became vacant after resignation of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s OBC Morcha on Sunday held a meeting of to discuss plans for taking the NDA government’s achievements over the past 12 years to the grassroots level. The meeting was chaired by BJP OBC Morcha national president K Laxman.