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Politics
BJP likely to field Smriti Irani, Kumar Vishwas for Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha seats
✍️ Livemint
🗓 30 Sep 2026, 02:33 AM
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The Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to nominate Smriti Irani and poet‑politician Kumar Vishwas for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, with other names such as Varun Gandhi and Hardeep Puri also being discussed.
The Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh, which will fill three seats, is scheduled for early August. The state’s large legislative assembly makes the contest a key battleground for national parties.
Party sources say the BJP is leaning towards Union Minister Smriti Irani and poet‑politician Kumar Vishwas as its primary candidates. Both have high public profiles; Irani holds a cabinet portfolio, while Vishwas, a former AAP member, recently joined the BJP.
Other names floated in internal discussions include Varun Gandhi, a Lok Sabha MP from the neighboring state of Rajasthan, and Hardeep Puri, a senior party functionary. Their inclusion reflects the party’s effort to balance regional representation and caste equations.
If the BJP finalises its list, the nominations will be filed with the Election Commission within the stipulated deadline, after which the elected members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly will cast their votes.
The opposition parties are expected to field their own candidates, making the outcome a barometer of the BJP’s strength ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Party sources say the BJP is leaning towards Union Minister Smriti Irani and poet‑politician Kumar Vishwas as its primary candidates. Both have high public profiles; Irani holds a cabinet portfolio, while Vishwas, a former AAP member, recently joined the BJP.
Other names floated in internal discussions include Varun Gandhi, a Lok Sabha MP from the neighboring state of Rajasthan, and Hardeep Puri, a senior party functionary. Their inclusion reflects the party’s effort to balance regional representation and caste equations.
If the BJP finalises its list, the nominations will be filed with the Election Commission within the stipulated deadline, after which the elected members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly will cast their votes.
The opposition parties are expected to field their own candidates, making the outcome a barometer of the BJP’s strength ahead of the 2024 general elections.