Two ministers may get Rajya Sabha re-entry from new states

New Delhi: The BJP may renominate to Rajya Sabha at least two Union ministers, out of the seven whose term is ending in April, from states other than the ones they represent at present.

Speculation is rife that health minister J.P. Nadda from Himachal Pradesh and human resource development (HRD) minister Prakash Javadekar from Maharashtra will shift to new states for entering the Rajya Sabha.     

BJP leaders who will retire from the Upper House in April-May include nearly seven Union ministers.

Himachal Pradesh BJP unit is abuzz with the talk that the party may nominate former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal from the lone Rajya Sabha seat falling vacant from the hill state. Mr Nadda, who currently represents his home state, could be shifted to another state. In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP won the Assembly polls but its chief ministerial candidate Mr Dhumal lost to the Congress candidate.

BJP sources said that Mr Javadekar could be re-nominated from his home state Maharashtra where the BJP is sharing power with ally Shiv Sena. Mr Javadekar currently represents Madhya Pradesh, which will go to polls by the end of this year.

Other Union ministers whose term is expiring include finance minister Arun Jaitley (Gujarat), petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan (Bihar), law minister Ravishankar Prasad (Bihar), social justice and empowerment minister Thawarchand Gehlot (MP) and panchayati raj minister Purushottam Rupala (Gujarat).

A total of 58 Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant in April-May, including from Andhra Pradesh (3), Bihar (6), Chhattisgarh (1), Gujarat (4), Haryana (1), Himachal (1), Karnataka (4), Madhya Pradesh (5), Maharashtra (6), Telangana (3), Uttar Pradesh (10), Uttarakhand (1), West Bengal (5), Odisha (3), Rajasthan (3) and Jharkhand (2). While March 12 is the last day of filing nominations, polling will be held on March 23.