The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday announced the candidature of former MP Ram Ji Lal Suman, retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Alok Ranjan, and renominated Jaya Bachchan to the Rajya Sabha for the three seats of the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
All three candidates filed their nomination papers at the State Assembly complex, in the presence of the SP president Akhilesh Yadav, General Secretary Shivpal Singh Yadav, and other party leaders. The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on February 16 from 11 a.m. onwards.
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While Ms. Bachchan is a four-term Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Suman, a veteran leader served as a Lok Sabha member four times from the Firozabad parliamentary segment. He was elected an MP, for the first time in 1977 on a Janata Party ticket and in 1989 on a Janta Dal symbol. Mr. Suman represented the seat between 1999-2009 on the SP symbol.
Mr. Ranjan, a 1978-batch IAS officer from the U.P. cadre, is considered close to the SP leadership and served as the Chief Secretary of India’s most populous State during the SP government led by Akhilesh Yadav. Mr. Ranjan, while talking to The Hindu, expressed confidence in standing up to the expectation of the party leadership and putting forth the socialist ideology diligently in the Upper House. “I am thankful to the SP president Akhilesh Yadav Ji and other senior leaders for expressing faith in me. I will try to put forth the party’s socialist perspective diligently and work as an asset for the leadership at the best of my capabilities,” he said. told The Hindu.
In the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the SP with 108 members can easily make sure that three of its members sail through in the Rajya Sabha polls. Earlier on February 11, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced the names of seven candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh. While the party nominated party leaders Sudhanshu Trivedi, former Union Minister R.P.N. Singh, it sprang a surprise by announcing the candidature of former Agra Mayor Navin Jain, former State Minister Sangeeta Balwant, former MLA Sadhna Singh, Amarpal Maurya, and Chaudhary Tejveer Singh as its nominee.
