Business Standard / New Delhi Jul 22, 2009, 00:28 IST
As many as seven seats in the Rajya Sabha will be up for grabs next month when the term of as many nominated members comes to an end. Among those retiring are popular actor Hema Malini who has emerged as a great crowd-puller for the BJP at election time. Apparently, the leadership is keen to find her a regular seat so that her services can be retained. Though former-wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh and legal eagle Ram Jethmalani are among those due to retire, more speculative interest lies in the seat to be vacated by journalist Chandan Mitra. By convention, a member of the fourth estate has invariably figured in the list of 12 members nominated to the Rajya Sabha. But the Government is not bound to nominate another journalist, especially when media baron Shobhana Bhartia of The Hindustan Times is already a nominated member. Speculation is that a leading Kolkata owner-editor, widely liked for his qualities of head and heart, might be nominated. His admirers in the Trinamool Congress are grateful for the consistent exposure of the misdeeds of the Left front government by his group of papers. Also in the running, according to Press Club gossip, is an editor from Chandigarh.
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