NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday announced nine candidates for the 2026 biennial Rajya Sabha elections across six states, paving the way for high-stakes polls later this month.
At least three states – Maharashtra, Bihar and Odisha – are likely to witness a contest.
From Bihar, where five seats fell vacant, the BJP nominated party president Nitin Nabin and state leader Shivish Kumar. Separately, Janata Dal (United) minister said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, is about to enter politics.
“He will be given greater responsibility in the party. What responsibility he will get will be decided in a day or two,” Minister Sharwan Kumar said. Asked if Nishant could be sent to the Rajya Sabha, Kumar said: “Anything can happen.”
Thursday is the last date to submit nominations for the March 16 elections.
In a state that requires 41 first-preference votes to win a seat, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has enough to win four seats outright. Winning the fifth seat requires three votes from the opposition, and it is likely to go to former minister Upendra Kushwaha.
In Assam, where polls are on for three seats, the BJP nominated MP Tirash Jwala and Minister Jogin Mohan. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the BJP will not field any candidate for the third seat as the party has no chance of winning.
In Assam, which has 126 members, at least 32 preferred votes are needed to win the contest on three seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party has 67 members in the assembly, while the Congress has 22 members.
In Chhattisgarh, where two seats fell vacant, Lakshmi Verma, a member of the Chhattisgarh State Women’s Commission, was selected as a candidate. Depending on their strength in the House, the BJP and Congress can win one Rajya Sabha seat each.
In Haryana, where polls are underway in two seats, former MP Sanjay Bhatia has been named as the candidate. Since 31 votes are needed for each of the candidates to reach the Rajya Sabha, the other seat will go to the Congress.
In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the ruling BJP has 48 MPs, the Congress 37, the INLD has two, while three independents support the ruling party.
In Odisha, where polls are going on in four seats, the party nominated Odisha unit president of the party Manmohan Samal and outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar.
Dilip Rai is also filing nomination saying he has BJP’s support and is likely to contest from the fourth seat against joint Cong-BJD candidate Datteswar Hota.
With 79 MLAs and the support of three independents, the BJP gets 82 votes out of 147 MLAs. When there are 30 preferred votes required for each candidate, a party can comfortably elect its own candidates and still have 22 surplus votes on hand.
In West Bengal, where polls are on for five seats, former West Bengal unit president Rahul Sinha has been selected as the candidate. By obtaining an absolute majority in the council, the TMC occupied the other four seats and will win them again.
With 75 legislators in the 294-member Assembly compared to 215 in the Trinamool Congress, the BJP has the numbers needed to ensure Sinha’s victory.
In Bihar, Nabin’s candidacy has gained significance after he recently took over as the BJP’s national president, marking a generational shift in the party’s top leadership. Nabin, a prominent face from Bihar, has held key organizational and ministerial responsibilities in the state and is considered close to the party’s central leadership.
Party leaders noted that sending Nabin to the Rajya Sabha would provide him with a parliamentary platform commensurate with his organizational responsibilities. As national president, he is expected to lead the party through a series of crucial assembly elections and pave the way for the next general election cycle.
The second candidate from Bihar, Kumar, is considered an experienced organizational hand in the party’s affairs at the state level.
In Maharashtra, where seven seats have fallen vacant, the ruling Mahayoti Party could win six seats and there may be a contest for the seventh seat, which the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi hopes to win. The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) said party chief Sharad Pawar should be the opposition candidate but Congress CHECK and Shiv Sena (UBT) expressed reservations.
