BJP wins eight, SP two of UP’s 10 Rajya Sabha seats unopposed

Lucknow: Eight candidates of the BJP and two of the Samajwadi Party (SP) have been declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh.

The unopposed elections were declared after the nomination papers of two Independent candidates were rejected during scrutiny, and no other candidate remained in the fray.

As a result, the voting scheduled for October 16 will no longer be required.

The outcome also brings an end to the Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) representation in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

The eight BJP candidates who have been elected to the Upper House from Uttar Pradesh are state Minister Dharm Pal Singh, BJP state OBC Morcha President Prakash Pal, Shruti Gangwar, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Radhakant Ojha, Gopi Krishna Pandey, and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan.

The SP’s two successful candidates are senior party leader and General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav and industrialist Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani.

Returning Officer Ajit Kumar Verma completed the formalities for the unopposed elections on Friday and issued certificates to the newly elected members.

Most BJP candidates were present at the state Assembly complex on Friday to receive their certificates.

A representative collected the certificate on behalf of Ojha, while former MLC Rakesh Yadav received the certificate on behalf of Ram Gopal Yadav.

After being elected to the Rajya Sabha, Prakash Pal said he had served the party in various capacities for the past 36 years and would now shoulder the responsibility of raising issues concerning the people of Uttar Pradesh and the country in Parliament.

Describing the BJP’s victory on eight seats, he claimed that the party would win 80 per cent of the seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh polls, while the opposition alliance would secure 20 per cent.

Newly elected BJP MP Rawat said the party has given a grassroots worker a major responsibility. She described her election as an example of the BJP’s worker-oriented organisational system, saying that dedicated party workers could rise to senior positions.

She also expressed confidence that the BJP would form a government with a full majority in Uttar Pradesh in 2027.

The outcome has also altered Uttar Pradesh’s representation in the Rajya Sabha. With two seats going to the SP, its strength in the Upper House has risen to five.

The party’s other members are Javed Ali, Ramji Lal Suman, and Jaya Bachchan.

The re-election of Ram Gopal Yadav and the entry of Nathwani into the Rajya Sabha for the first time have strengthened the party’s position.

Nathwani, in a post on X, thanked SP President Akhilesh Yadav for reposing faith in him. He said he would remain committed to advancing Akhilesh Yadav’s vision for Uttar Pradesh’s holistic development, modern infrastructure and a brighter future for the youth in the Parliament

The tenure of the current members ends on November 25. Of these 10 seats, the BJP earlier held eight, while the SP and BSP held one each.

From Uttarakhand, BJP’s Dinesh Kumar Arya, a Dalit leader from Kumaon, has been elected unopposed to the upper house of the Parliament. There was no other nomination from any other political party.

Similarly, Rukmini Mallik, also known as Koel Mallik, a Bengali film actress who recently joined the BJP, has been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal

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