NEW DELHI: The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) is likely to meet soon for finalising candidates for 55 seats in the Rajya Sabha elections with the saffron outfit trying to field fresh faces for the Upper House of Parliament.
As the ripple effects of the Rajya Sabha polls have put a question mark on the stability of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is mulling to cash in on the Congress’ internal fight.
“The CEC of the BJP may meet within a couple of days. BJP chief J P Nadda will preside over the first CEC meeting after his election to the top party post. PM Narendra Modi will also attend the meeting, which will finalise the party candidates,” said a BJP functionary.
With the BJP chasing additional seat from Madhya Pradesh apart from one of its own, more than a dozen Congress MLAs are said to be in touch with the saffron outfit.
While the BJP is likely to field a tribal candidate, BJP vice-president Prabhat Jha and national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargia are hoping to get the nod of the top brass for fighting for another Rajya Sabha seat.
Jha, who is Punjab in-charge for the party, is completing two terms in Rajya Sabha. He had earlier been the MP state unit chief of the party.
Vijayvargia, a key aide of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is currently in-charge for West Bengal. He is credited for scripting the BJP’s big inroads in Bengal in the 2019 general elections.
Among the key aides of Shah, BJP national general secretaries Anil Jain and Arun Singh, besides Anil Baluni and GVL Narsimha Rao have so far made to the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP is looking at the RS elections as a test of the Congress’s strength in MP. It will also be fielding candidates for Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh among others.
Despite losing MP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh, the BJP may not be losing strength in the Upper House, and instead, gain from November polls for the Rajya Sabha from UP.