With the August 21 deadline for filing nominations for Rajya Sabha elections drawing near, there is strong speculation that the BJP would field an outsider from Rajasthan for this coveted position.
Sources close to the state BJP said Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, Ravneet Singh Bittu, was being considered for the post.
The two-time Congress MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Bittu, had joined the BJP on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections in March this year. Though he lost the polls on a BJP ticket, he was made a Union Minister in the Modi 3.0 government. The choice of Bittu, who is the grandson of late Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and son of former Punjab minister Tej Parkash Singh, may come as a surprise to many as he has never held any ministerial portfolios or senior party positions.
Other probable aspirants are former state BJP chiefs Satish Poonia and Arun Chaturvedi, former Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore, BJP's National General Secretary Alka Gurjar, and former MP C.R. Chaudhary.
However, the Rajya Sabha seat is likely to go to Ravneet Bittu as he has to find a place in Parliament after becoming the Union Minister despite his defeat in parliamentary polls, said party sources.
A source in the BJP unit of Rajasthan explained, "Elections to the Rajya Sabha are due for 12 seats in nine states, excluding Punjab. Besides, none of the seven Rajya Sabha seats from Punjab will fall vacant before 2028. This makes Ravneet Bittu a frontrunner for the Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan.".
Another strong contender to the Rajya Sabha is Satish Poonia, former BJP chief of Rajasthan and now the party's Haryana incharge. Poonia headed the BJP in Rajasthan during 2019-2023 and later became the Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly.
On July 5, Poonia was appointed as the incharge of Haryana where Assembly elections are scheduled for October 1. Even though he had lost the election in Amer constituency last year, Poonia still has a good following in Rajasthan.
By sending Poonia, who has strong ties with the Sangh, to the Rajya Sabha, it could attempt at mending its position among the Jat community and get an upper hand in the by-polls for the six Assembly seats in Rajasthan, where Jat voters are influential in two constituencies—Jhunjhunu and Khinvsar.
Sources state the consideration is also being given to veteran leader Alka Gurjar, while Rajendra Rathore, who emerged victorious in seven Assembly elections before losing in 2023, may also be considered, especially for his draw to attract the Rajput vote bank.
C.R. Chaudhary from Vasundhara Raje camp and Brahmin leader Arun Chaturvedi are among the names, sources say, being discussed equally.
With the present strength of BJP in Rajasthan, victory for the party candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections is very obvious. If the Congress does not field any candidate, the BJP nominee would get elected unopposed to the Upper House.
The assembly has a total of 200 seats, of which six are now vacant. While BJP holds 115, the Congress holds 66, and thus victory for BJP in the Rajya Sabha election would be simple.
Out of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan, Congress has five and the BJP four, with one seat lying vacant.
The Rajya Sabha members of the BJP are Rajendra Gehlot, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Chunnilal Garasiya, and Madan Rathore. Sonia Gandhi, Neeraj Dangi, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, and Pramod Kumar are from the Congress side.
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