The BJP’s central election committee has earmarked two of its senior faces, Smriti Irani and Harish Dwivedi, to vie for the ten Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs in Uttar Pradesh on October 16. This move follows a landslide in the recent assembly elections, where the party captured 255 of the 396 seats, giving it a comfortable majority.
Sources told NDTV that Varun Gandhi, Sanjeev Baliyan, and Satyapal Singh are also under consideration, while the Samajwadi Party is eyeing a third candidate to contest the tenth seat. The SP’s current strength of 101 MLAs plus two Congress allies positions it to potentially win two seats outright, but a third would require strategic cross‑voting.
The nomination process kicks off Tuesday, with the Central Election Committee expected to finalize the list within the next four days. Cross‑voting is likely, as the state’s 101‑member Samajwadi Party could target the last seat, and the BJP may court unaffiliated MLAs to secure an eighth seat.
The BJP hopes to secure seven seats on its own and may push for an eighth by courting unaffiliated MLAs, a strategy that could reshape the balance in the house. This competition is set to unfold against the backdrop of the upcoming assembly elections, where retaining Brahmin and non‑Yadav OBC votes remains a priority for the party.