BJP Announces RS Candidates

Party names nominees from six states for March 16 biennial polls

March 3, 2026: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday declared its candidates for the 2026 biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha, announcing nominees from Bihar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Odisha and West Bengal. In a statement issued from its central office in New Delhi, the party said its central election committee cleared the names for the polls scheduled on March 16. Legislators in the respective state assemblies will cast their votes to fill seats of members whose terms are set to expire.

From Bihar, the BJP has nominated Nitin Nabin and Shivesh Kumar. Nabin’s candidature is being seen as significant following his recent elevation as the party’s national president, marking a generational shift in leadership. In Assam, the party fielded Terash Gowalla and Jogen Mohan, while Laxmi Verma has been named from Chhattisgarh and Sanjay Bhatia from Haryana.

In Odisha, the nominees are Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar, while Rahul Sinha will contest from West Bengal. The outcome in some states is expected to be straightforward given the BJP’s strength in the assemblies, while in others the results may hinge on cross-voting and alliance arithmetic.