RS polls: BJP announces 8 candidates from UP, one from Uttarakhand

The BJP on Monday announced its eight candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand.

Earlier this month the Election Commission had announced elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and one in Uttarakhand, falling vacant on November 25.

With the BJP having 304 members in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, the November 9 election for the ten Rajya Sabha seats from the state may turn out to be a nearly one-sided affair for the party, feel poll analysts.

The BJP's all eight nominees for Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh are likely to win as the party has the three-fourth majority in the state assembly.

Similarly, party's nominee for Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand, Naresh Bansal, is also expected to win.

With these nine new possible members, the BJP's own tally in Rajya Sabha will cross 90 in the 245-member house.

The ten Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh falling vacant are three of BJP, four of Samajwadi party, two of Bahujan Samaj Party and one of the Congress.

The BJP's candidates for Rajya Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh include Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, party's general secretary Arun Singh and Neeraj Shekhar. All three are sitting MPs.

Besides them, other five candidates are Geeta Shakya, Haridwar Dubey, Brijlal, BL Varma and Seema Dwivedi.