BJP on Saturday announced two candidates for the Rajya Sabha bypolls — Cabinet Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister of State L Murugan from Assam and Madhya Pradesh respectively. The polls would take place on October 4.
Sonowal is the Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Murugan is the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.
Sonowal, who as Chief Minister led the BJP to the second successive victory in the Assam Assembly poll, was inducted into the Modi Cabinet on July 7. He was compensated for leaving the Chief Minister’s post for Himanta Biswa Sarma in May this year.
Murugan was the BJP president of the Tamil Nadu unit. Both the leaders needed to be elected to the Upper House before the period of six months that would end early next year.
Total of six seats are vacant in the Upper House — two from Tamil Nadu, one from Bengal, one from Assam, one from Madhya Pradesh and one from Maharashtra.
The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) nominated Sushmita Dev, who in a surprise move recently quit the Congress and joined the TMC.
