Indu Goswami to file nomination as BJP nominee for Rajya Sabha from HP

Former president of Himachal Pradesh BJP's Mahila Morcha Indu Goswami will file her nomination papers as BJP's candidate for Rajya Sabha from the state on March 13, a BJP spokesperson said.

BJP's central election committee has cleared her name as its candidate for the Upper House from the state on Thursday morning.

Goswami will file her papers on the last day of filing nominations on Friday, the spokesperson said.

She had resigned from the post of state BJP's Mahila Morcha chief in July last year.

One of the three Rajya Sabha seats from HP will fall vacant as Vipolve Thakur of the Congress will retire from the Upper House of Parliament on April 9.

The other two RS seats from the hill state are currently represented by BJP national president J P Nadda and senior Congress leader Anand Sharma.

Nadda's term in the Rajya Sabha comes to an end in 2024, whereas Sharma's term will be completed in 2022.

The ruling BJP in the state is likely to wrest the Rajya Sabha seat from the opposition Congress with the voting scheduled to be held on March 26.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) will conduct the election for this seat along with 54 Rajya Sabha seats across 17 states on March 26.

Rajya Sabha members are elected indirectly to the Upper House of Parliament as they are elected by MLAs of the particular state from where they are nominated.

The BJP is likely to bag the seat as it has a total of 44 MLAs in the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Assembly. Two independent MLAs are supporting the BJP. The opposition Congress has 21 members whereas the CPI(M) has one MLA.