In what came as a surprise for many, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday decided to name veteran actress and parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan as its candidate for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, news agency ANI reported today citing party sources. The report added that an official announcement in this regard is expected soon. Earlier, it was expected that party may well choose someone from its experienced flock of seasoned politicians and the top choice for the post was Naresh Aggarwal.
Bachchan’s third term in the Upper House comes to an end on April 3. Speaking on the development, MP Amar Singh supported Jaya’s candidature over Aggarwal. “Jaya Bachchan was consistently loyal to the Samajwadi Party, its system and hierarchy. She has proved to be better a politician than Naresh Agrawal,” Singh said.
Rajya Sabha elections for 10 UP seats are scheduled for March 23. As per the electoral college in the state, minimum 37 MLA votes are required win one seat. This way, Samajwadi Party, which has 47 MLAs, is in a position to get only 1 member elected to the House. On the other hand, Mayawati’s BSP has only 19 MLAs and henceforth can’t send its representative to Rajya Sabha.
Earlier, The Indian Express had reported that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress may nominate Bachchan as its candidate from West Bengal to Rajya Sabha. A source confirmed to the newspaper that Bachchan was a frontrunner for the nomination and a formal announcement was expected to be made around March 18. As many as fifty-eight Rajya Sabha members will retire in April. The BJP, which has increased its tally in a number states, is expected to make big gains.
On the other hand, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has announced former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar as party’s nominee for the upcoming elections. Ambedkar, who shares his name with legendary Dalit icon, hails from UP’s Etawah