BJP nominates Laxmikant Bajpai to Rajya Sabha; some surprises too

Lucknow, May 29 The BJP list for Rajya Sabha biennial elections from Uttar Pradesh, released on Sunday evening, has some surprises.

The party has nominated former state president Laxmikant Bajpai to the Upper House. Bajpai, who belongs to Meerut, had been relegated to the wings since 2016.

A popular leader among the cadres, Bajpai was said to have been deprived of his rightful place in the party. His nomination to the Upper House is being welcomed by his supporters.

Another significant name in the list is that of Dr Radha Mohan Das Agarwal of Gorakhpur.

Agarwal, had vacated his Gorakhpur seat to pave the way for Yogi Adityanath's election in the recent assembly polls. He had returned to being a medical practitioner after the elections.

The third name in the list is that of Surendra Nagar who had quit the Samajwadi Party to join the BJP.

The other names in the list include Darshana Singh, Sangeeta Yadav and Baburam Nishad. All three names are relatively unknown and a surprise for many in the party.

The party is yet to announce two more names for the Rajya Sabha.