BJP eyes higher Rajya Sabha strength, announces candidates for polls

The BJP has announced its candidates for the 2026 Rajya Sabha biennial elections and the Odisha by-election. The line-up includes senior leaders and regional representatives as the party looks to retain and strengthen its Upper House presence.

In Short

• BJP released names across six states for Rajya Sabha polls
• Debashish Samantaray has been nominated for Rajya Sabha bypoll in Odisha
• BJP looks set to increase its seat tally in Rajya Sabha

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced its candidates for the 2026 Rajya Sabha biennial elections and a by-election in Odisha, naming several senior leaders and regional representatives for seats across six states.

Among the prominent nominees is Punjab BJP leader Tarun Chugh, who has been fielded from Madhya Pradesh along with Rajneesh Agrawal.

For the biennial elections, the saffron party has named Tai Tagak from Arunachal Pradesh and A Sharda Devi from Manipur.

In Gujarat, the party has fielded four candidates: Rajubhai Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansingh Parmar, and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya. From Rajasthan, the BJP has nominated Dr. Alka Gurjar and former state BJP chief Dr. Satish Poonia.

The BJP has a comfortable majority in these states, which is likely to ensure that its candidates win their seats without any hiccups.

TWO OMISSIONS, ONE BIG ADDITION

Notably, two Union Ministers – Ravneet Bittu and George Kurian – have not been nominated from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively.

This also means that they are unlikely to continue in the Council of Ministers, which is likely to be reshuffled in the near future.

The party has also nominated Debashish Samantaray for the Rajya Sabha by-election from Odisha. A former Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader, Samantaray had resigned from the party on May 25.

RAJYA SABHA POLLS 2026

The announcement comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha biennial elections scheduled on June 18, with the BJP aiming to retain and strengthen its presence in the Upper House of Parliament.

Biennial elections will be held for 24 seats across 10 states. By-elections for two crucial seats in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will also be held on the same day.

The formal poll process commenced on June 1 with the issuance of the election notification, and the deadline for filing nominations set for June 8.

Voting is scheduled to take place on June 18 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The counting of votes will begin later that evening, with the final results expected to be declared by late night.

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