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The terms of both ministers in the Upper House are set to end on June 21. Bittu currently represents Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, while Kurian is a member from Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP on Thursday announced its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for June 18 across 24 seats in 10 states.
Speculation over a possible Union Cabinet reshuffle has intensified after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chose not to renominate two Union ministers — Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian — for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
The terms of both ministers in the Upper House are set to end on June 21. Bittu currently represents Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha, while Kurian is a member from Madhya Pradesh.
The decision has fuelled political chatter about an impending reshuffle in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Council of Ministers, particularly as the BJP has also recently assigned key organisational responsibilities to some serving ministers.
Kurian is also among the few prominent Christian faces in the Union Cabinet, making his omission particularly noteworthy.
Bittu has said that he is ready to contest the Punjab Assembly elections.
Adding to the speculation is the recent appointment of Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra as BJP’s Delhi president and Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary as chief of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit.
Another factor being closely watched is the Rajya Sabha tenure of Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, which is due to end in November.
BJP Announces Candidates For Rajya Sabha Polls
The party nominated BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh from Madhya Pradesh and former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia from Rajasthan. Chugh, a Punjab leader, currently oversees the party’s affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, while Poonia serves as BJP’s Haryana in-charge. Poonia had lost the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly election.
In Odisha, the BJP fielded Debashish Samantaray, who recently joined the party after quitting the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Samantaray had earlier served as a Rajya Sabha MP from the state before resigning from the Upper House.
From Gujarat, the party nominated Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansingh Parmar and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya. Rajneesh Agrawal has been fielded from Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP also named Alka Gurjar, the party’s national secretary and Delhi co-in-charge, as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Rajasthan. In the Northeast, the party nominated Manipur BJP president A Sharda Devi from Manipur and senior leader Tai Tagak from Arunachal Pradesh.
About the Author
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Chief Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
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