In a big political move in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Sanjay Seth as its eighth official candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. The decision will create trouble for the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state, as it has already declared Jaya Bachchan, Alok Ranjan, and Ramji Lal Suman as its candidates. The BJP has fielded 7 candidates till now, including Sudhanshu Trivedi, RPN Singh, Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, Amarpal Maurya, Sangeeta Balwant, Sadhna Singh, and Naveen Jain.
The state will elect 10 representatives for the Upper House, and 37 votes are needed to win one seat. The SP needs 111 votes to win all three seats but currently holds only 108. SP MLA Ramakant Yadav is in jail, and another MLA, Pallavi Patel, is unhappy. In this scenario, the SP will have 106 votes. Even if the SP receives two votes from the Congress party, they will still have 108 votes (106+2), falling short by three votes. According to sources, the BJP is short of 10 votes to win the eighth Rajya Sabha seat. The BJP has 252 MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, and it is supported by several NDA partners, including Apna Dal-Sonelal (13 MLAs), the NISHAD Party (6 MLAs), Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP: 6 MLAs), and Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD: 9 MLAs).
Two MLAs of the Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik), including Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiya, are also likely to back the BJP candidate.
Who is Sanjay Seth?
Sanjay Seth parted ways with the Samajwadi Party and joined the BJP in 2019. The voting process for the Rajya Sabha elections will take place on February 27. Sanjay Seth has previously made it to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. In 2016, he reached the Rajya Sabha as a member of the Samajwadi Party. He has also served as the vice-president of the UP Olympic Association, the UP Badminton Association, and the Credit UP. He is one of the founders of Shalimar Corps. He was born on February 10, 1961, to Lavkush Narayan Seth and Kusum Seth. Sanjay completed his BCom from Lucknow University and is married to Leena Seth. He has a son and a daughter.
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