BJP fields JP Nadda for Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat, Ashok Chavan from Maharashtra

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named party chief JP Nadda as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat. Nadda is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh.

However, the BJP does not have the strength or the required numbers to win the lone seat from the Congress-ruled state. The BJP has also fielded Ashok Chavan, a former Congress member, from Maharashtra.

Chavan's candidacy was announced a day after he joined the BJP. His move follows the departures of senior Maharashtra Congress figures Baba Siddique and Milind Deora. Siddique joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, while Deora switched to the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde.

The BJP's central election committee has approved four candidates from Gujarat and three from Maharashtra for the upcoming biennial elections for the upper house.

The other three BJP candidates from Gujarat are Govindbhai Dholakia, Mayankbhai Nayak, and Dr Jashvantsinh Parmar. Medha Kulkarni and Dr Ajit Gopchhade have been named as party candidates from Maharashtra.

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