Former BJP MLA Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, who left Gorakhpur urban area to contest the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly elections to contest Yogi Adityanath, has been nominated by the party for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Agarwal had represented Gorakhpur Urban in the UP assembly elections from 2022, but made way for Adityanath in the recent elections.

The BJP has also fielded former state unit president Laxmikant Bajpai and sitting Rajya Sabha MP Surendra Singh Nagar.

Baburam Nishad, who is currently the chairman of the UP Backward Classes Wit Vikas Nigam (UP Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation), has also been given ticket by the party.

The BJP has given tickets to two women, Darshan Singh and Sangeeta Yadav, from the state. Singh is the former state chief of the party’s women’s wing, while Yadav is a former party MLA from the Chauri Chaura assembly constituency of Gorakhpur.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has congratulated the candidates. In a tweet in Hindi, Adityanath said, “Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to all the candidates announced today by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the Rajya Sabha (elections). Hail ho-victory.”

In the recently concluded assembly elections, the BJP won 255 seats, while its allies Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Nishad Party got 12 and six seats respectively. The Samajwadi Party won 111 seats, while its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal got eight. SBSP, another ally of the Samajwadi Party, got six seats. Congress Two more BSP won one seat.

With 273 MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the ruling BJP-led NDA will be able to easily get eight members elected to the upper house of Parliament, while the SP and its allies (RLD and SBSP), with a strength of 125 MLAs, Will ensure victory of three candidates.

Uttar Pradesh sends 31 members to the Rajya Sabha. Of the 11 retired MPs from the state, five are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), three from the SP, two from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one from the Congress.

The BJP has five retired Rajya Sabha MPs Zafar Islam, Shiv Pratap Shukla, Sanjay Seth, Surendra Nagar and Jai Prakash Nishad. SP leaders who completed their term include former Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council president Sukhram Singh Yadav, whose son Mohit has joined the BJP.

Apart from Yadav, the tenure of Revati Raman Singh and Vishambhar Prasad Nishad will also end in July. The BSP MPs whose term is ending are Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Siddharth. The tenure of Congress’s Kapil Sibal is also ending in July.

According to the Election Commission of India, the last date for filing nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections is May 31. The scrutiny of nominations will be done on June 1, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 3. Voting will take place. on June 10, and it will be held from 9 am to 4.00 pm. Counting of votes will take place on June 10.