BJP Names 8 Candidates for Rajya Sabha Biennial Polls in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday approved the names of eight candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial election 2026 in Uttar Pradesh. 

The approved candidates are Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar. 

The announcement was issued by Tarun Chugh, Rajya Sabha MP and the party's National Headquarters In-charge. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier announced the schedule for biennial elections to 11 Rajya Sabha seats, 10 from Uttar Pradesh and one from Uttarakhand, which fall vacant in November upon the retirement of sitting members. 

A by-election will also be held for a casual vacancy from West Bengal, created by the resignation of TMC MP Rukmini Mallik. 

The retiring Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh include Union Minister Hardeep Puri, Arun Singh, Brijlal, BL Verma, Ram Gopal Yadav, Neerja Shekhar, Geeta Alias Chandraprabha, Ramji, Seema, and Dr Dinesh Sharma. 

Naresh Bansal is the lone retiring member from Uttarakhand. With this notification, Union Ministers Hardeep Puri and BL Verma have not been nominated for the Upper House. 

On October 4, the BJP named Dinesh Arya as its candidate from Uttarakhand and Rukmini Mallick, also known as Koel Mallick, for the West Bengal by-election. 

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party has named Professor Ramgopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani as its two candidates for the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

The last date for filing nominations is October 6. Scrutiny of papers will be held on October 7, and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is October 9. Polling will take place on October 16 from 9 am to 4 pm, with counting on the same day.