Delhi: Union Minister and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s name went missing from the second list of BJP candidates for Rajya Sabha. After this, speculations are rife that he may contest the Lok Sabha by-election from Rampur seat. The Rajya Sabha membership of Naqvi is ending in July and BJP has not given him a ticket yet.

Actually, it is mandatory for Naqvi to have membership of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha to remain on the post of minister. Although he can continue as a minister for the next 6 months even after July, but during this time he will have to take membership of one of the houses.

The Bharatiya Janata Party announced the names of two more candidates from UP late on Monday night for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha. In a statement by the BJP headquarters in Delhi, the party announced the names of Mithilesh Kumar and K Laxman as its candidates from Uttar Pradesh.

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On the other hand, by-elections are to be held on June 23 for Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats. In such a situation, BJP can get him to contest the Lok Sabha by-election from Rampur seat.

Mithilesh Kumar is a former member of Lok Sabha from Shahjahanpur. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 on a Samajwadi Party ticket. He has been an MLA once as an independent (2002–2007) and then on a Samajwadi Party ticket (2007–2012) from Powayan assembly constituency in Shahjahanpur district. On the other hand K. Laxman is the national president of BJP’s OBC Morcha. He was also the former president of BJP’s Telangana unit.

Along with this, BJP has announced the names of eight candidates from UP for the Rajya Sabha elections. The party had on Sunday announced the names of a total of six candidates from Uttar Pradesh. With a total of 273 MLAs in the UP Assembly, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) can easily win the Rajya Sabha election with eight of its candidates. At the same time, the SP alliance with a total of 125 MLAs has the numbers to win its three candidates.

A total of 31 members are elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, out of which 11 members are being elected. Voting for this will be held on June 10. Of the 11 seats for which elections are being held, five of the BJP, three of the SP, two of the Bahujan Samaj Party and one member of the Congress are expiring in July.