BJP nominates Sudhanshu Trivedi for Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday nominated national party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi as its candidate for the bye-election for Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha seat. The seat was left vacant after former union minister Arun Jaitley's demise on August 24.

The BJP also named former Lok Sabha MP Satish Dubey for the Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar as the seat was vacated following veteran Supreme Court lawyer and former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani's death last month.

Arun Jaitley, 66, was admitted to Delhi's AIIMS hospital on August 9 after he complained of palpitations and restlessness.passed away on August 24 after battling multiple health issues for months. The party also named former Lok Sabha MP Satish Dubey for the Rajya Sabha seat from Bihar which was previously held by former Union Law Minister and senior Supreme Court advocate Ram Jethmalani. Jethmalani was elected to the upper house with the backing of Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

The BJP is confident of winning the two bypolls as it has a formidable majority in both the states. The BJP is in coalition with the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Bihar.

Jethmalani passed away on September 8, at his residence in New Delhi at the age of 95. Jethmalani served as law minister and as minister of Urban Development in former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Cabinet. He was also the chairman of the Bar Council of India.

Congress on Thursday released the list of its star campaigners for the Rajasthan bye-polls and named 40 leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who would be canvassing for the party in the state.

The bye-polls in Rajasthan are happening for two constituencies namely Mandawa and Khinwsar.

The central leadership of the party often stays away from campaigning during bye-polls which is also evident in the Congress list which doesn't have names of Sonia, Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi. Even other senior leaders such as Gulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, among others are not part of the star-campaigners list.

Hence announcing Singh as the star-campaigner for these seats of Rajasthan by-polls has come as surprise to many. However, it may be noted that Singh was recently elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.

The campaigners' list also comprises Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.