Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday hailed the party's performance in the Gujarat and Punjab bypolls, calling them a 'semi-final to 2027' and a clear sign that voters would reject both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance is expected to achieve a clear majority in Rajya Sabha after bye-elections for 12 seats scheduled next month, which would help the party get the nod for key legislations such as the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.
Indian Olympic Association welcomed the government's nomination of Sachin Tendulkar for a Rajya Sabha seat, saying the IOA is happy that its long-standing demand to include sportspersons in the Upper House has been accepted.
The Congress party has accused the BJP and the Election Commission of being "partners in crime" in what it terms "seat chori" (seat theft), following the rejection of its Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination. The party claims the rejection was based on "flawed and unreasonable" logic, alleging non-disclosure of a criminal case against Natarajan, despite her stating only a legal notice exists.
The nomination is an indication that the veteran Congress leader is not sure of victory from Raebareli, the Lok Sabha constituency she has represented for five terms.
The Congress is likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming election cycle with some of its top leaders, including P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing another term.
Three Congress candidates, including All India Congress Committee president Mallikarjun Kharge, and one Bharatiya Janata Party nominee were declared elected "unanimously" to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka on Thursday, election officials said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's tally in Rajya Sabha has dipped below 90 for the first time in several years but the party and its allies are expected to not only recoup the their losses but also make some gains when by-elections to fill the existing vacancies are held in the coming weeks.
Usha, who missed an Olympic medal by 1/100th of a second at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, was nominated to the Upper House on July 6, days after she turned 58 on June 27.
He has set up the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai with focus on strengthening information communication system in villages.
AAP would like to send an icon from the state to the Upper House of Parliament and one of the foremost names to have emerged is that of 41-year-old off-spinner.
The party also nominated six others, including former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, an influential Kushwaha leader who recently quit Congress and returned to the Samajwadi Party, and realtor Sanjay Seth for the biennial polls scheduled next month.
All four BJP candidates have filed their nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat, with their victory appearing certain as the Congress is not contesting. This outcome means the Congress will lose its sole representative from Gujarat in the Upper House, Shaktisinh Gohil, whose term is ending. The BJP's strong majority in the state assembly ensures an unopposed win for its candidates.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday re-nominated sitting MP M Kanimozhi, daughter of party president M Karunanidhi as its candidate for the June 27 Rajya Sabha elections for six seats, hoping to drum up support from other parties to ensure a second term for her.
Recent BJP organisational moves and Rajya Sabha nominations have sparked speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may soon undertake a ministerial reshuffle.
Nadda replaces Union minister Piyush Goyal, who recently won the Lok Sabha election and took oath on Monday as a member of the Lower House of Parliament.
'We are pleased to announce the candidature of @sagarikaghose, @SushmitaDevAITC, @MdNadimulHaque6 and Mamata Bala Thakur for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections,' the party said in a tweet.
Outgoing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samajwadi Party president Mayawati on Tuesday filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha.
Three former Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MPs, including Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday and, within hours, were named the saffron party's candidates for the Rajya Sabha bypolls from West Bengal, underlining both their political rehabilitation and the party's calibrated shift in inducting leaders from the erstwhile ruling dispensation.
Harivansh is likely to be elected as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman for a third term as the opposition has decided to boycott the election in protest.
Union ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha Tuesday along with senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi and former minister Upendra Kushwaha.
The former journalist unsuccessfully contested the recent West Bengal assembly elections on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is likely to get a majority in the Rajya Sabha in April this year, once the remaining six vacancies under the nominated category are filled and those newly elected take oath.
Ambedkar Rajan's nomination comes as no surprise to the BSP cadre as it is well known that Mayawati depends on him and seeks his word regarding every major issue.
The President and the Trinamool's demand concerning the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha has the government in a quandary
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's nomination to the Rajya Sabha drew mixed reaction with most members of the upper House on Friday, welcoming the decision even as the Opposition felt this could be a move by the Congress to divert attention from the problems afflicting the party.
It was a moment of pride for Olympian boxer MC Mary Kom as she took oath as a Rajya Sabha MP in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The opposition parties in India have announced a boycott of the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election, citing the Modi government's failure to appoint a deputy speaker in the Lok Sabha for seven years and lack of consultation.
The Congress party is reportedly considering moving its Madhya Pradesh MLAs to a party-ruled state, likely Karnataka, ahead of the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections. This move aims to prevent potential cross-voting after the BJP fielded a surprise third candidate, intensifying the contest for three Rajya Sabha seats.
Continuing dynasty politics, Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad on Friday nominated his daughter Misa Bharti to Rajya Sabha, reports MI I Khan.
Former Union minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election in Maharashtra slated for June 19.
He will be the first former Chief Justice of India to be nominated to Rajya Sabha. Former Chief Justice Ranganath Misra was also a Rajya Sabha member but he was elected on a Congress party ticket.
The Rajya Sabha election scene in Karnataka heated up with the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (Secular) combine fielding its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out four seats.
Senior leader P Chidambaram whose Rajya Sabha tenure is ending from Maharashtra is under consideration from Tamil Nadu as the Congress is all set to get the support of alliance partner the DMK. The G-23 leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Vivek Tankha, are also said to be in contention.
The BJP holds 28 of the 59 Rajya Sabha seats that will soon face election.
AAP has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Punjab
The rejection of senior Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination papers transformed what should have been a routine Rajya Sabha election into a lesson in contemporary political warfare.
Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has secured its first seat in the Bihar Assembly, with Kishor winning the Bankipur bypoll in his electoral debut, stunning the BJP in its long-held bastion.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has announced his decision to contest the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar. He frames the bypoll as a "referendum" on the performance of the current BJP-led government under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Kishor, a former poll strategist, aims to challenge the established parties in a seat traditionally held by the BJP.
Sources stated that the move comes even as Trinamool Congress has attempted to stir a controversy over Dasgupta's candidature. BJP has fielded Swapan Dasgupta from Tarakeswar Assembly constituency in Hoogly district.
