Parrikar files nomination for Rajya Sabha berth from UP

Defence Minister and former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday filed a nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh.

Together with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Parrikar completes the troika at the top rung of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation, representing UP. Modi and Rajnath had been elected to the Lok Sabha from Varanasi and Lucknow, respectively, earlier this year.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had so far been entrusted with the additional portfolio of defence.

Parrikar was accompanied by union ministers Kalraj Mishra and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, apart from senior state BJP leaders, when he filed his nomination papers in the state Vidhan Sabha precincts.

Later addressing newspersons at the state BJP office, Parrikar said he would need some time to get himself acquainted with the defence ministry, so that he could give informed replies to media queries.

However, he asserted he would leave no stone unturned towards the modernisation of the armed forces and preparedness to tackle any potential threat to the nation.

The biennial election for 10 Rajya Sabha seats from UP is due on November 20.

Based on the strengths of political parties, Samajwadi Party (SP) is likely to win 6 seats, followed by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) two. BJP can wrest one seat, while Congress is likely to win one seat with support from SP and other parties.

Rajya Sabha members from UP, whose term are ending on November 25 are BSP members Akhilesh Das, Avtar Singh Karimpuri, Brijlal Khabari, Brijesh Pathak, Raja Ram and Veer Singh. Das had recently resigned from BSP after party president declined to offer him RS berth.

The terms of SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and former party leader Amar Singh, Kusum Rai (BJP) and Mohammad Adeeb (Congress) are also expiring.

In the 403-member UP assembly, SP currently has 231 members, followed by BSP 80, BJP 41, Congress 28 etc.

Meanwhile, SP has fielded Ram Gopal Yadav, cabinet minister Azam Khan's wife Tazeen Fatima, Neeraj Shekhar (son of former PM Chandra Shekhar), Ravi Prakash Verma, Javed Ali Khan and Chandrapal Singh Yadav. Congress has fielded P L Punia.

BSP has fielded Raja Ram and Veer Singh, while declining berths to both Akhilesh Das and Brijesh Pathak, who represented the Vaish and Brahmin communities, following the drubbing in 2014 LS polls.