LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on oCTOBER 5, Monday announced eight candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections in Uttar Pradesh, dropping all eight outgoing party nominees, including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma. The fresh lineup brings together OBC, Dalit and Brahmin representation with two women candidates. It reflects representation across regions, regional balance and mandate to organisational experience.
The BJP’s eight nominees are Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar. The announcement was issued by Tarun Chugh, Rajya Sabha MP and the party’s National Headquarters In-charge.
BJP issues a list of 8 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/k6dfExHwvY
— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2026
The list marks a significant departure from the outgoing Rajya Sabha contingent. Along with Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, the BJP has not renominated Arun Singh, Brijlal, Neeraj Shekhar, Geeta Shakya, Seema Dwivedi and former Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma.
The social composition of the new list appears carefully calibrated. Three nominees—Dharampal Singh, Prakash Pal and Shruti Gangwar—represent different OBC communities, including Lodh, Pal and Kurmi sections. Brahmin representation comes through Radhakant Ojha and Gopi Krishna Pandey, while Vidyasagar Sonkar and Priyanka Singh Rawat provide Dalit representation.
The inclusion of two women adds another dimension to the list. Priyanka Singh Rawat, a former Barabanki Lok Sabha MP, returns to the political spotlight, while Shruti Gangwar, from Bareilly, currently chairs the Bareilly Urban Co-operative Bank Limited.
The regional spread is equally notable. Dharampal Singh and Shruti Gangwar provide representation from Rohilkhand, Priyanka Singh Rawat brings an Awadh connection, while Prakash Pal represents the Kanpur-Bundelkhand belt. Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan adds a western Uttar Pradesh organisational face, while Vidyasagar Sonkar and Radhakant Ojha are associated with Purvanchal.
Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan’s nomination carries a particularly strong organisational message. Having served as a BJP state general secretary and the party’s in-charge for Western Uttar Pradesh, his elevation to the Rajya Sabha underlines the importance attached to organisational experience.
The nominations come ahead of the October 16 Rajya Sabha polling, with 10 seats falling vacant in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly has 403 seats, of which seven are currently vacant, leaving 396 MLAs. Based on the applicable quota, 37 first-preference votes will be required to elect one Rajya Sabha member.
With the BJP comfortably positioned to win eight seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP) expected to secure two, both parties could see their candidates elected unopposed if no additional nominees enter the contest.
The Election Commission has fixed October 6 as the last date for filing nominations, followed by scrutiny on October 7 and withdrawal of candidature by October 9. Polling will be held on October 16 from 9AM to 4PM, with counting scheduled for the same day.
