BJP drops Hardeep Singh Puri, 6 sitting MPs in UP Rajya Sabha picks
Synopsis
BJP's UP Rajya Sabha list is a caste-calibrated pre-election move — but the headline story is who is missing. Dropping Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and six other sitting MPs signals a deliberate organisational reshuffle ahead of the 2027 Assembly battle, with the new nominees mapping almost precisely onto UP's most contested voter communities.
Key Takeaways
BJP announced 8 candidates for Uttar Pradesh biennial Rajya Sabha elections on 16 October 2026 .
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma , both sitting MPs whose terms end next month, were not nominated.
Other dropped sitting MPs include Arun Singh , Seema Dwivedi , Neeraj Shekhar , Brij Lal , and Geeta Shakya .
The list includes 3 OBC , 2 SC , and 3 upper-caste candidates, with 2 women nominees .
Caste calculus in the nominations is seen as early groundwork for UP Assembly elections due next year.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, 5 October 2026, announced eight candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, dropping Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and six other sitting MPs from its nominations. The elections are scheduled for 16 October.
Key Omissions From the List
The most prominent absence is Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, whose tenure in the Upper House ends next month. Fellow Union Minister BL Verma has also been dropped. Other sitting Rajya Sabha MPs who did not make the cut include Arun Singh, Seema Dwivedi, Neeraj Shekhar, Brij Lal, and Geeta Shakya. Notably, Dinesh Sharma, who previously held a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh, has since been appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was therefore not in contention.
The Eight Nominees
The BJP's confirmed list for the 16 October biennial polls comprises Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, and Shruti Gangwar. Two of the eight are women candidates, which the party says reflects its emphasis on women's empowerment and women-led development.
Caste Arithmetic Behind the Choices
The list has been carefully calibrated along caste lines: three OBC candidates drawn from the Lodhi, Pal, and Kurmi communities; two Scheduled Caste candidates; and three upper-caste candidates comprising two Brahmins and one Rajput. Dharampal Singh, a BJP MLA from Aonla in Bareilly district and a two-time minister in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government, hails from the Lodh community — an influential constituency in the Bundelkhand region. Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, state BJP general secretary, has been a key organisational figure overseeing several major party campaigns.
The Women Nominees
Shruti Gangwar is the daughter of Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar. Priyanka Singh Rawat, a former MP from Barabanki, won the Lok Sabha seat in 2014 by defeating Congress veteran PL Punia. Both selections underscore the party's stated commitment to greater women's representation in the Upper House.
What the Nominations Signal for 2027
Analysts note that the caste engineering visible in these Rajya Sabha picks is not merely about filling six Upper House seats — it is also a calibration exercise ahead of the high-stakes Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections slated for next year. By fielding nominees who represent key OBC, SC, and upper-caste voting blocs, the BJP appears to be laying early groundwork for coalition-building in what is widely regarded as the most electorally consequential state in the country. The sidelining of sitting ministers, however, raises questions about internal party dynamics and whether Puri and Verma will be reaccommodated in alternative roles.
Point of View
Pal, Kurmi, two SC candidates, two Brahmins, one Rajput — a near-perfect map of the voter communities the BJP needs to consolidate before 2027. These Rajya Sabha nominations, in other words, are less about the Upper House and more about what the UP assembly result will look like.
NationPress
5 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Hardeep Singh Puri dropped from BJP's Rajya Sabha nominations in UP?
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's Rajya Sabha term from Uttar Pradesh is ending next month and the BJP did not renominate him for the 16 October biennial elections. The party has not publicly stated the reason; analysts suggest the reshuffle reflects organisational recalibration ahead of the 2027 UP Assembly elections.
Who are the 8 BJP candidates for the UP Rajya Sabha elections?
The eight BJP nominees are Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, and Shruti Gangwar. The list includes two women candidates and nominees from OBC, Scheduled Caste, and upper-caste communities.
When are the UP Rajya Sabha biennial elections scheduled?
The biennial Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for 16 October 2026.
Which other sitting BJP MPs were dropped from UP Rajya Sabha nominations?
Apart from Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, the sitting MPs not renominated include Arun Singh, Seema Dwivedi, Neeraj Shekhar, Brij Lal, and Geeta Shakya. Former Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma was not in contention as he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
What does the caste composition of BJP's UP Rajya Sabha list reveal?
The list comprises three OBC candidates from Lodhi, Pal, and Kurmi communities; two Scheduled Caste candidates; and three upper-caste candidates — two Brahmins and one Rajput. This caste engineering is widely seen as a signal of the BJP's strategy for the high-stakes Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due in 2027.
