LUCKNOW, Sept. 30
Samajwadi Party candidates Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani filed their nominations on Wednesday for the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, with the party also signalling plans to field a third candidate despite having the assured numbers, with Congress support, for two seats.
The two candidates submitted their papers in the presence of SP president Akhilesh Yadav, senior leader Shivpal Yadav and party legislators. Nathwani is an executive with Reliance Industries Limited, while Ram Gopal Yadav is a senior SP leader and sitting Rajya Sabha member.
Ten Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh are at stake in the October election.
Nine vacancies will arise when the terms of sitting members expire on November 25. They include Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and B L Verma, BJP leaders Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal and Seema Dwivedi, SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP member Ramji Gautam.
The tenth seat became vacant after former Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma resigned from the Rajya Sabha following his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The current composition of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly gives the BJP-led alliance sufficient strength to secure eight of the 10 seats. The SP, backed by Congress, has the numbers for two.
The possibility of the Samajwadi Party nominating a third candidate, however, could turn what might otherwise be a largely numbers-driven election into a contest.
“We will declare a third candidate also,” SP spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said.
Asked how the party expected to secure the additional votes needed for a third nominee, Chowdhury claimed that several BJP legislators were dissatisfied with the functioning of the Uttar Pradesh government and could support SP candidates.
The claim has not been substantiated, and the report did not identify any BJP legislator who had indicated an intention to vote for an SP nominee.
If the SP goes ahead with a third candidate and the number of contestants exceeds the available seats, cross-voting could again become important.
The possibility carries particular significance after the 2024 Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh.
In that contest, the BJP won all eight seats it contested, while the SP secured two through Jaya Bachchan and Ramji Lal Suman.
The Samajwadi Party had also fielded former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Alok Ranjan as a third candidate, but he lost.
The experience provides the immediate political backdrop to the party’s latest indication that it could again contest a seat beyond what its assured Assembly strength would ordinarily support.
Ram Gopal Yadav’s nomination, meanwhile, gives the veteran SP politician an opportunity to retain his place in the Upper House. His current term is among those expiring on November 25.
The election is also important for the BJP because two of the outgoing members, Puri and Verma, are serving Union ministers.
Both will need to secure re-election to Parliament to continue as Union ministers beyond the constitutionally permitted period without membership of either House.
Rajya Sabha members representing a state are elected by its elected Assembly members through proportional representation using the single transferable vote. The balance of strength within the Uttar Pradesh Assembly therefore gives the BJP-led alliance the numerical advantage in the October contest.
The SP’s decision on a possible third candidate could introduce an additional element of uncertainty, but the party has not yet named that nominee.
The Election Commission has set October 6 as the final date for filing nominations.
Nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 7, while candidates will have until October 9 to withdraw from the contest.
If polling is required, voting will take place between 9 am and 4 pm on October 16. Votes will be counted the same day.
The final shape of the Uttar Pradesh contest will therefore become clearer after nominations close.
For now, Ram Gopal Yadav and Nathwani are the SP’s two confirmed candidates. Whether the party follows through on its plan to field a third nominee will determine whether the election develops into another contest in which votes beyond the parties’ expected numerical strength become consequential.
