LUCKNOW, Sept. 30
Samajwadi Party candidates Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, as the party indicated it could field a third candidate despite its current Assembly strength being sufficient, with Congress support, to secure two seats.
The nominations were filed in the presence of SP president Akhilesh Yadav, senior party leader Shivpal Yadav and party legislators.
Nathwani is an executive at Reliance Industries Limited, while Ram Gopal Yadav is a senior SP leader and sitting Rajya Sabha member whose current term ends on November 25.
The elections are being held for 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. Nine will fall vacant when the terms of the sitting members expire on November 25, while another vacancy arose after former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma resigned from the Upper House following his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Based on the current composition of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the BJP-led alliance has the numbers to secure eight seats, while the Samajwadi Party, with Congress support, can secure two. Business Standard
The SP, however, has signalled that it may enter a third candidate, a decision that could force a contest and make support beyond the party’s assured numbers important.
“We will declare a third candidate also,” SP spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said.
Asked how the party intended to secure enough votes for an additional nominee, Chowdhury claimed that several BJP legislators were dissatisfied with the functioning of the state government and could support SP candidates.
The assertion is a political claim by the Samajwadi Party. No evidence of commitments from BJP legislators was cited in the report.
If the SP proceeds with a third candidate and the BJP-led alliance fields candidates according to its available strength, the election could move beyond straightforward allocation of seats based on party numbers.
Cross-voting could then become a factor.
The contest comes two years after the 2024 Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh, when the BJP won all eight seats it contested and the Samajwadi Party secured two.
SP candidates Jaya Bachchan and Ramji Lal Suman were elected in that contest. The party’s third nominee, former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Alok Ranjan, lost.
That election also drew attention to cross-voting, making the SP’s suggestion that it could again field a third candidate politically significant. Whether the party ultimately does so will become clear before nominations close.
Among the nine sitting members whose terms end in November are Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and B L Verma.
Other BJP members completing their terms include Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal and Seema Dwivedi.
Ram Gopal Yadav is the outgoing SP member, while Ramji Gautam represents the Bahujan Samaj Party.
Puri and Verma would need to return to Parliament to continue as Union ministers beyond the constitutionally permitted period without membership of either House.
The Rajya Sabha election will be determined by members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly rather than through a direct public vote.
The composition of the Assembly therefore gives the BJP-led alliance a substantial numerical advantage in the contest, while the SP’s ability to secure additional representation beyond two seats would depend on votes outside its assured support.
That makes the possibility of a third SP candidate the principal uncertainty following Wednesday’s nominations.
The party has not yet announced who that candidate would be.
The Election Commission has set October 6 as the final date for filing nominations. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on October 7, while candidates will have until October 9 to withdraw.
Polling is scheduled for October 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, with counting to take place the same day.
Until nominations close, the final shape of the contest remains unsettled.
Ram Gopal Yadav and Nathwani are now formally in the race for the SP. The party’s next decision, whether to nominate a third candidate despite lacking the assured numbers for a third seat, could determine whether Uttar Pradesh sees a contested Rajya Sabha election and another test of party discipline inside the Assembly.
