Kiran Choudhry BJP’s Rajya Sabha choice from Haryana, Ravneet Bittu Rajasthan
Geetanjali Gayatri & Nitin Jain
Chandigarh/Ludhiana, Aug 20
It’s official! Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu will enter the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. The grandson of slain Punjab CM Beant Singh, Bittu had quit the Congress to join the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll.
Cakewalk for both
- With BJP having over two-thirds majority in Rajasthan, Bittu’s victory is certain
- Likewise, the BJP has sufficient strength in Haryana
- George Kurien, PM’s pointman in Wayanad during the recent landslides, is the BJP candidate from MP
- BJD ex-leader Mamata Mohanta has been fielded from Odisha; Dhairyashil Patil from Maharashtra, Manan Mishra Bihar and Rajib Bhattacharjee Tripura
Similarly, former Congress leader Kiran Choudhry, who recently joined the BJP, has been named party nominee for the Haryana Rajya Sabha seat. She resigned as Tosham MLA on Tuesday.
Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Delhi, Bittu said he had been asked by the party high command to reach Jaipur to file nomination papers on Wednesday. “I am deeply honoured and grateful to PM Modi and top party leadership... I will strive to uphold the values and principles of the Constitution and contribute to the country’s progress,” he said. Bittu, who will turn 49 on September 10, will be contesting the seat vacated by senior Congress leader KC Venugopal following his election to the Lok Sabha on June 4.
With the saffron party having more than two-thirds majority in Rajasthan, Bittu’s entry to the Upper House is certain. Likewise, the BJP has sufficient strength in the Haryana Assembly to ensure Choudhry’s win. Moreover, with the Congress deciding against fielding any candidate for want of numbers and no other candidate in the fray, it is unlikely that polling will be held on September 3. In such a scenario, Choudhry will be declared winner on August 27, the last date for the withdrawal of nominations. Once elected, she will be a Rajya Sabha MP for Deepender Hooda’s “remaining term”. It will be less than two years and her term will end on April 9, 2026.
At least 12 Rajya Sabha seats in nine states are going to the polls on September 3. Ten of these seats had fallen vacant as the sitting members, including Venugopal, Deepender Singh Hooda, Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were elected to the Lok Sabha. The BJP is likely to win seven of the 12 RS seats, which will take its strength in the House of Elders to 93. The BJP’s strength had dropped to 86 and that of the NDA to 101, below the majority mark of 113 in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, in July this year after the retirement of four nominated MPs.
