Many prominent Union Ministers from Rajya Sabha may be asked to contest Lok Sabha polls
Uncertainty Over BJP Chief J P Nadda entering fray
With the Rajya Sabha term of several senior Union Ministers including that of BJP president J P Nadda expiring in April this year, the high command is toying with the idea of fielding many of them in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
It is learnt that some of the Union Ministers like Mansukh Mandaviya Parshottam Rupala and (Gujarat), Bhupender Yadav (Haryana), Dharmendra Pradhan (Odisha), Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Karnataka), Narayan Rane (Maharashtra), V Muraleedharan (Kerala) may be asked to contest. Many of them have been in Rajya Sabha for two to three terms and worked hard during the polls.
Though names of Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnav (Odisha) and Piyush Goyal who is also leader of the Rajya Sabha are also being mentioned. But it seems unlikely that they will be fielded. Goyal has four more years to go in RS and has wide experience to work as a backroom boy of the party since 2014 polls. The names of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar from New Delhi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from Madurai are being mentioned. But its a tough call for the party though Modi is keen to change the face of the Rajya Sabha.
A crucial decision also has to be taken for the BJP Chief Jagat Prakash Nadda whose term is expiring in April and he cannot be elected from Himachal Pradesh this time as Congress is the ruling party there. Being the party chief, he is expected to oversee 2024 LS polls rather than contest himself. Secondly, it would be politically incorrect if he is renominated to the RS from any other state. Even Amit Shah did not contest and worked as poll in-charge of the crucial state of UP in 2014 where BJP won 73 seats out of 80.
