Media baron Subhash Chandra on Tuesday, 31 May, filed his nomination from Rajasthan for elections to the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Elections to four seats in the upper house of Parliament are due to take place on 10 June. Chandra, who is the chairperson of Essel Group, is the fifth candidate for the election in Rajasthan.
The Congress party has fielded three candidates for the election, namely Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, and Pramod Tiwari. The BJP, on the other hand, has fielded former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari.
"Two nominations have been filed. Subhash Chandra has filed as an Independent and Ghanshyam Tiwari as BJP candidate. The BJP is supporting Subhash Chandra," BJP spokesperson Ramlal Sharma said while addressing the press on Tuesday.
Sharma added that while Tiwari will win on the party symbol, Chandra will win as an Independent.
BJP Makes Appeals to Independents To Vote for Chandra
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia said that appeals had been made by the party to Independent MLAs and representatives of other parties to vote for the BJP-backed candidate Chandra.
"We have made personal and public appeals to Independents and MLAs of other parties to vote for the BJP supported candidate. There is internal fight and resentment within the Congress Party which is affecting governance," Poonia was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He also urged all those who were concerned about farmers and the youth in the state to teach the Congress a "lesson."
Chandra also expressed gratitude to the saffron party for its support, and claimed that he would win the election with more than the required votes.
Chandra is currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana. His term is due to end on 1 August.
In the 200-member Assembly of Rajasthan, the Congress has 108 MLAs, followed by the BJP with 71, 13 independent candidates, three Rashtriya Loktantrik Party legislators, two each of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Tribal Party, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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