After filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha election, Jaishankar expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people and MLAs of Gujarat and expressed hope that he would be able to contribute to the progress in the coming four years. “First of all, I want to express my gratitude to PM Modi, BJP leadership and people and MLAs of Gujarat. Four years ago, I had the honour of representing Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha. I had the opportunity to be a part of it. “In the last four years, the country has changed under the leadership of PM Modi. I hope that I will be able to contribute to the progress that will be made in the coming 4 years. ”
The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats from three states – Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal – to be held on July 24. Counting of votes will take place on the same day. The last date for filing nominations is July 13 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 17.
Jaishankar’s tenure ends on August 18
The election was necessitated as Jaishankar’s term will end on August 18 along with two other Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat, Jugalsinh Lokhandwala and Dinesh Anawadia. Though the BJP has not officially announced the names of candidates for the three Rajya Sabha seats, Jaishankar’s nomination was certain.
Jaishankar was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the government in 2019. He was then nominated to the Upper House for the seat vacated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Congress had said it will not field candidates for the three Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat as it does not have enough MLAs in the 182-member Assembly. Notably, eight of Gujarat’s 11 Rajya Sabha seats are currently held by the BJP and others by the Congress.
10 Rajya Sabha members are retiring
According to a statement issued by the Election Commission, the 10 members are retiring between July 28 and August 18 on completion of their six-year term in the Upper House.
Six Trinamool Congress MPs – O’Brien, Dola Sen, Sushmita Dev, Shanta Chhetri and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray – and Congress member Pradip Bhattacharya are retiring from West Bengal on August 18. Elections will also be held on one seat in Goa. Bjp MP Vinay D Tendulkar’s term will end on July 28. Jaishankar, Dinesh Jemalbhai Anwadia and Lokhandwala Jugal Singh Mathurji are the three BJP MPs from Gujarat whose terms are ending on August 18.
