BJP Rajya Sabha candidate list: Names declared for all four Gujarat seats; Rajasthan's Satish Punia in fray
BJP Rajya Sabha candidate list: Nominations for 5 of 10 states out, Rajasthan's Satish Punia among 10 names
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released a list of candidates on Friday (June 4) for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections. The list includes the names of 10 candidates from five of the 10 states going to the polls this month. The party also announced a candidate for the Odisha Rajya Sabha bypoll.
The Rajya Sabha elections will be conducted on June 18 for 24 seats across 10 states, as the Election Commission says, “The term of office of 24 members of the Council of States elected from 10 States is due to expire in June-July 2026."
Full list of Rajya Sabha candidates released by BJP today:
| State | Total no. of vacant seats | Names announced by BJP |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 4 | (1) Tai Tagak |
| Gujarat | 4 | (1) Rajubhai Shukla (2) Mukeshbhai Rathwa (3) Mansingh Parmar (4) Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanzariya |
| Madhya Pradesh | 3 | (1) Tarun Chugh (2) Rajneesh Agrawal |
| Rajasthan | 3 | (1) Alka Gurjar (2) Satish Poonia |
| Manipur | 1 | (1) Sharda Devi |
The Rajya Sabha elections will be held in four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, three seats each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two seats in Jharkhand and one seat each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
BJP's Rajya Sabha poll candidate from Odisha: The BJP also announced that Debashish Samantray, a former BJD leader who recently joined the BJP, will contest the Odisha Rajya Sabha by-election. The seat fell vacant after Samantray resigned from the primary membership of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), and joined the BJP in May, 2026. He was a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha before he quit the party and resigned from the Upper House.
List of Rajya Sabha MPs whose term is ending:
Among those who are retiring from Rajya Sabha include Gowda, Congress president Kharge (both from Karnataka), union ministers Ravneet Singh (Rajasthan) and George Kurian (Madhya Pradesh, former chief minister Digvijay Singh, Congress leader Shaktisinhji Govil among others.
The EC also announced bypolls for one seat each for the council of states from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
In Maharashtra, the council seat has fallen vacant following resignation from the seat by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, who has since been elected to the state assembly.
About the Author
Akriti Anand is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint. She is a digital journalist with more than six years in the news industry.<br><br> In her current role, she covers both national and international politics, and also keeps a close watch on the latest trends in science and space exploration. <br><br> Akriti joined the LiveMint team in October 2023. Before this, she built a strong career at other major media houses. She worked as a senior sub-editor at India Today. Later, she moved to CNBCTV-18. There, she covered high-pressure topics like breaking news and major elections. She spent much of her time analysing Parliament bills and complex political debates. She is also a skilled editor who knows how to polish a story for a digital audience. <br><br> One of her career highlights happened at CNBCTV-18. She made her first television debut during the Chandrayaan-3 mission. She also provided special on-air coverage for the Karnataka Elections. <br><br> When she is not busy with breaking news, Akriti loves to write explainers and interview experts on a wide range of issues. She also enjoys making complex space missions easy for everyone to understand. <br><br> Her education helps her tackle these diverse subjects. She holds a BA in English Literature, a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication, and a Master’s degree in Development Studies. She is currently expanding her knowledge in climate journalism.<br><br> Connect with Akriti here<br> LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/akriti-anand-868285199">https://www.linkedin.com/in/akriti-anand-868285199</a><br> Twitter/X: <a href="https://x.com/AkritiAnand7">https://x.com/AkritiAnand7</a><br> Email: akriti.anand@htdigital.in
Wait for it…
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.