All four BJP nominees, including party president J P Nadda, filed their nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat. Besides Nadda, the party has nominated Jashvantsinh Parmar, Govind Dholakia and Mayank Nayak for the February 27 election.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and state BJP chief C R Paatil joined Nadda at the state assembly complex to submit nomination papers. Rita Mehta, the returning officer, accepted the nominations of the four BJP candidates. Another individual, Paresh Mulani, filed his nomination but lacks MLA support, rendering it invalid as per the rules, Mehta clarified.
With no opposition candidates and the deadline for nominations passed last week, the four BJP nominees are poised to win uncontested. With a vast majority of 156 MLAs in the 182-member Gujarat assembly belonging to the BJP, the party is expected to secure all four seats. Currently, two seats held by the BJP and two by the Congress will become vacant soon, with the Congress having sent two candidates, Amee Yagnik and Naran Rathwa, to the Rajya Sabha in 2018.
Union ministers Parshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya had won the 2018 Rajya Sabha elections from the state. Rupala and Mandaviya, who have not renominated for the Rajya Sabha this time, are likely to be fielded for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Nayak, an Other Backward Class (OBC) leader, currently leads the party's OBC morcha. Dholakia, the founder and chairman of Shree Ramkrishna Exports Private Limited, a diamond manufacturing and exporting company in Surat, is renowned for his philanthropic endeavors. The Rajya Sabha elections for 56 seats across 15 states, scheduled for February 27, were announced by the Election Commission last month.