BJP names Rajya Sabha candidates for five States; two Union Ministers left out

The BJP on Thursday (June 4, 2026) announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in five States, with two Union Ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian not figuring in the list. Both Ministers’ terms in the Upper House end on June 21. While Mr. Bittu represents Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Kurian is currently a member from Madhya Pradesh.

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Mr. Bittu is likely to focus on Punjab which goes to polls early next year. 

The party accommodated Debashish Samantaray who recently joined the BJP after quitting his seat in the Rajya Sabha as a Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP.

According to the list released by the party, Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansingh Parmar, and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya have been fielded as candidates from Gujarat. The party has opted not to renominate three of its outgoing members, instead leaning on younger leaders.

Younger leaders chosen

Mr. Kanzariya, an OBC leader from Devbhoomi Dwarka district, is the son of former Khambhaliya MLA Meghjibhai Kanjhariya, who died in 2021. Mr. Parmar (45), from Gir Somnath, currently heads the Gujarat BJP Bakshipanch (OBC) Morcha. Mr. Shukla has held organisational responsibilities within the party and has worked in Kalol and Surendranagar. Mr. Rathwa (39) is a former vice-president of the BJYM and currently serves as general secretary of the Chhota Udaipur district unit.

Party national general secretary Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal have been fielded from Madhya Pradesh. Mr. Chug, who hails from Punjab, has been an active face in the BJP organisation over the past few years and has earlier held positions in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

Alka Gurjar and Satish Poonia will contest as BJP candidates from Rajasthan. Mr. Poonia, 62, served as the BJP State president from September 2019 to March 2023 and is currently the party’s in charge for Haryana. He was elected to the State Assembly from Jaipur district’s Amber constituency in 2018 but lost in the 2023 election. He also served as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly for eight months in 2023. Ms. Gurjar, 65, currently a BJP national general secretary, won the Rajasthan Assembly election in 2013.

The party has fielded A. Sharda Devi as its candidate from Manipur and Tai Tagak from Arunachal Pradesh. Ms. Devi, 59, a former teacher, is a long-time party member and served as the national vice-president from 2014 to 2016. She is currently the BJP State president and the first woman to hold the post since June 2021. Mr. Tagak, 54, joined the RSS in 1989 and played a key role in the BJP forming the government in Arunachal Pradesh in 2016. A former State president (2013–2015) and Adviser to the Chief Minister, he is also the patron of the Arunachal Shiksha Vikas Samiti, the State unit of Vidya Bharati.

Rajya Sabha polls in 10 States, including Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Manipur, will be held on June 18. A bypoll to the Upper House from Odisha will also be conducted on the same day.