Jaishankar to File RS Nomination from Gandhinagar Tomorrow; BJP Parl Board to Decide on Other Vacant Seats

External affairs minister S Jaishankar is all set to file his nomination for Rajya Sabha from Gandhinagar in Gujarat on Monday morning, even as the BJP is still to take a call on the nominations for the other two seats that are vacant in the state.

Sources said BJP’s top decision-making body, its Parliamentary Board, is expected to decide on the vacant seats soon. “EAM Jaishankar has a very busy schedule and will travel overseas in the next couple of days, including the visit with Prime Minister Modi to France. Since he has surety to get a Rajya Sabha term from the state, he has been asked to file his nomination papers,” a top official from the state unit of Gujarat, confirmed to News18.

The source further said the state unit has sent names for the other two Rajya Sabha seats, however, the decision will be taken by the board.

S Jaishankar was sworn in as cabinet minister in the government in 2019. He was then nominated to the Upper House to the seat vacated by Union home Minister Amit Shah who was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019 from Gandhinagar.

The strength of BJP in the 182-seat Gujarat assembly stands at 156. The party is confident of winning all three seats comfortably.

Apart from Jaishankar, two other MPs set to retire from Rajya Sabha from the state include Dinesh Anavadiya and Jugalsinh Lokhandwala.

Six MPs from West Bengal and one from Goa are also set to retire from Rajya Sabha in this lot. While the term of Goa BJP MP Vinay Tendulkar ends on July 28, the BJP is confident of winning the lone seat too.

The six retiring members of West Bengal include Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Shanta Chetri and Sushmita Dev from Trinamool Congress (TMC). The lone member of Parliament from Congress in West Bengal, Pradeep Bhattacharjee is also all set to retire next month.

Out of the six seats falling vacant from West Bengal, looking at the numbers, the TMC is expected to secure five and BJP one.

The notification for the polls was released on July 6, with July 13 being the last day to file nominations, said the Election Commission. The elections will be held on July 24, and counting will take place on the same day.