BJP Rajya Sabha list in UP: The BJP on Monday released a list of eight Rajya Sabha candidates in Uttar Pradesh. In this list, the BJP has relied on cadre rather than any outside leaders.
With the announcement of eight candidates for the ten Rajya Sabha seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party has not only addressed the Upper House’s arithmetic, but also sought to send a political message for the 2027 Assembly elections and the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
By prioritizing long-time and loyal workers in the list, the party has assured the core cadre that long-term commitment and loyalty will be respected within the organization. It has also attempted to contain the resentment among the upper castes and to keep the backward and Dalit communities firmly connected.
The party did not give a second chance to any of the current eight Rajya Sabha members. Influential figures from Western Uttar Pradesh, such as Union Minister BL Verma and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh’s son Rajveer Singh, were also excluded from the list. On the contrary, by sending Cabinet Minister Dharampal to the Rajya Sabha, the party has signaled the creation of a new axis of backward leadership in Western Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, the selection of Shruti, the daughter of a prominent Kurmi leader from Rohilkhand and Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar, has raised a new question about the BJP’s balance between nepotism and organizational loyalty.
This list is also significant because the BJP is in a crucial phase of preparing for the 2027 assembly elections. At this time, selecting candidates for the Rajya Sabha is not merely a means of sending them to Delhi, but also a means of sending messages to different social groups, regions, and organizational factions.
For some time now, there have been discussions about the political distance and dominance between BL Verma and Rajveer Singh regarding the leadership of the Lodhi community in Western Uttar Pradesh. BL Verma was once close to Kalyan Singh, while Rajveer Singh is considered a natural successor to his father’s political legacy. The exclusion of both from the Rajya Sabha list cannot be a normal occurrence.
In contrast, the decision to send Livestock Minister Dharampal, a multiple-time MLA from Amla, to the Rajya Sabha is being seen as a strategy to promote a new leadership face among the Lodhi voters of western Uttar Pradesh.
A Message to the New Through Old Faces
Most of the eight names are those whose political identity has been built within the BJP organization. Among these, Priyanka Singh Rawat and Shruti Katiyar can be considered relatively new faces. Meanwhile, through names like Gopikrishna Pandey, Radhakant Ojha, Dharampal Singh, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, and Rampratap Singh, the party has signaled to its old cadre that the path to the Upper House is open to those who have worked for the organization for a long time. Social alignment is also part of this strategy. By including three upper caste, three backward caste, and two Dalit candidates, the BJP has not only targeted its traditional upper caste base but also sent a message of representation to OBC and Dalit voters.
Shruti’s selection, being the daughter of Santosh Gangwar, the Governor of Jharkhand and a multiple-time MP from Bareilly, again brings to the fore the question of nepotism within the BJP. The BJP has long leveled this accusation against opposition parties. In such a situation, the decision to send Shruti, who comes from a political family, to the Rajya Sabha despite her organizational background raises questions about the party’s standards. However, it is also being seen as an attempt to appease the Kurmi community in western Uttar Pradesh.
While the regional balance in the Rajya Sabha list may not appear completely equal, the social and organizational message is more clear. While the BJP has sought to mitigate potential resentment among the upper castes, it has also attempted to reassure the backward castes and Dalits that their representation is secure. The biggest message is that the party may prioritize leadership preferences and electoral expediency over factional pressure or political legacy within the organization.
Sudhir Kumar Singh, Lucknow
Published by: Rohit Mishra
Courtesy: Hindi News