BJP’s eight candidates filed their Rajya Sabha nominations in Lucknow on Tuesday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and senior party leaders were present during the filing.
The UP Rajya Sabha election 2026 process moved forward on Tuesday as all eight Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates filed their nomination papers at the Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accompanied the candidates during the nomination process. BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and several senior ministers and party leaders also attended the event.
BJP’s Eight Rajya Sabha Candidates
The BJP has nominated:
- Dharampal Singh
- Radhakant Ojha
- Prakash Pal
- Vidyasagar Sonkar
- Gopi Krishna Pandey
- Priyanka Singh Rawat
- Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan
- Shruti Gangwar
The party announced the eight names on Monday ahead of the October 6 nomination deadline.
The list includes leaders from different social and organisational backgrounds. It has three OBC candidates, two Dalit candidates, two Brahmins and one Thakur, according to reports. Two of the nominees are women.
BJP Workers Welcome Candidates
Before heading to the Vidhan Bhavan, the eight nominees reached the BJP state headquarters in Lucknow.
Party workers welcomed them with drums and celebrations before the candidates left for the Assembly complex to complete the nomination process.
The nomination took place on the final day for filing papers for the October 16 Rajya Sabha elections. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 7, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until October 9. Polling is scheduled for October 16.
SP Fields Two Candidates
The Samajwadi Party has nominated Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani for the Rajya Sabha elections.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has indicated that the party will not field a third candidate. If no additional candidate enters the contest, the 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh could be filled without a contested poll.
The BJP’s eight nominees and the SP’s two candidates would then account for all 10 seats scheduled for the October 16 election.
BJP Drops Sitting Rajya Sabha Members
The BJP’s latest list also marked a change from its previous Rajya Sabha representation in Uttar Pradesh. The party did not renominate outgoing members including Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma.
The development has drawn attention within Uttar Pradesh politics as parties prepare for the 2027 Assembly elections.
5 Key Takeaways
- BJP’s eight candidates filed nominations for the UP Rajya Sabha election on October 6.
- Yogi Adityanath accompanied the candidates during the nomination process.
- The BJP candidates include Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal and Shruti Gangwar.
- SP has nominated two candidates, Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani.
- Polling is scheduled for October 16, with scrutiny on October 7 and withdrawals allowed until October 9.
