BJP announces 8 candidates for RS elections from UP; union ministers Hardeep Puri, BL Verma not renominated

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced eight nominees for the upcoming biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh that will be held on October 16.Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri (ANI file photo)The list drops all sitting MPs, including union ministers Hardeep puri and BL Verma, who have not secured a renomination.Two women — former MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and Shruti Gangwar — have featured on the list. Dharampal Singh, an OBC leader who is the animal husbandry minister in chief minister Yogi Adityanath's cabinet, is also on the list.The other names on the list include Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pande and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan. Ojha is the bar council head in Prayagraj.Full list of BJP candidates1. Dharampal Singh2. Radhakant Ojha3. Prakash Pal4. Vidyasagar Sonkar5. Gopi Krishna Pandey6. Priyanka Singh Rawat7. Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan8. Shruti GangwarThere are 10 vacancies from the state, with the BJP poised to win eight comfortably.Apart from Dharampal Singh, the other two OBC faces that the list features are Prakash Pal and Shruti Gangwar, while Vidyasagar Sonkar and Priyanka Rawat belong to the SC community.Gopi Krishna Pandey and Radhakant Ojha are the two Brahmin faces on the list and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan is the Thakur representation.CM Yogi Adityanath congratulated the nominees and extended “best wishes for the historic victory".