NEW DELHI: The BJP has retained Union minister Piyush Goyal as its leader in the Rajya Sabha, paving the way for him to continue as the Leader of the House following his election to Parliament for a third term.
Goyal (58) was the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha prior to his third term as well, so it will be a mere formality necessitated by his fresh term.
Sources said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has communicated its decision to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
Goyal's name as the Leader of the House will be announced in the Rajya Sabha on July 18, they added.
Goyal holds the charge of three ministries -- commerce and industry, food and public distribution and textiles.
An all-India second-rank holder chartered accountant, Goyal has also held the portfolios of railway, power and coal in the past.
The BJP will also have to pick its deputy leader in the Upper House of Parliament as the term of former Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who held the position, ended recently.