In Gandhinagar, four candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming election to four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat at the state assembly complex on Monday. All four are anticipated to be elected unopposed, as the Congress party, which holds the second-largest number of seats in the assembly, has not put forward any candidates.
The four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat will become vacant on June 21, coinciding with the conclusion of the terms of sitting MPs Ram Mokariya, Narhari Amin, and Ramila Bara — all from the BJP — and Shaktisinh Gohil from the Congress. Following this election, the Congress will have no Rajya Sabha representation from the state, as it lacks sufficient MLAs in the assembly.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, several ministers, state BJP President Jagdish Vishwakarma, and other senior party leaders were present as Raju Shukla, Mansinh Parmar, Mukesh Rathwa, and Jitendra Kanjariya submitted their nomination papers.
Raju Shukla, aged 62, currently oversees the BJP's Surendranagar district unit. He has previously served as president of the Kadi municipality and general secretary of the Mehsana district BJP. Mukesh Rathwa, a 39-year-old tribal leader from Chhota Udepur district, serves as the general secretary of the BJP's district unit and was formerly vice-president of the party's youth wing. Mansinh Parmar, 45, hails from Gir Somnath district and is the president of the BJP OBC Morcha's Gujarat unit. Jitendra Kanjariya, another prominent OBC leader aged 39, comes from Devbhumi Dwarka district and has previously served as a member of a district panchayat executive committee.
With the BJP holding 161 MLAs in the 182-member legislative assembly and the Congress opting not to field a candidate, the ruling party is poised to secure all four seats unopposed. A day before the nomination filing, the BJP candidates convened a meeting with party MLAs in Gandhinagar on Sunday to ensure coordination.
The scrutiny of nomination papers is scheduled for June 9, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 11. Should more than one candidate remain in the running for any seat, polling will be conducted on June 18, with counting taking place on the same day.
