The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its first list of nine candidates for the March 16 Rajya Sabha elections, with party national president Nitin Nabin emerging as the most prominent name. Nabin has been nominated as one of the BJP’s two candidates from Bihar, signalling a key organisational decision ahead of future electoral battles.

Five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar are set to fall vacant. Following the BJP-led alliance’s strong performance in the recent Assembly elections, the party has the numerical strength in the state legislature to secure at least two seats. Alongside Nabin, the BJP has fielded Shivesh Kumar, a Dalit leader and former MLA who had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Sasaram. Kumar currently serves as a general secretary in the state BJP unit.

Nabin’s nomination effectively ends speculation that he might continue leading the party while remaining a member of the state Assembly, similar to former BJP presidents such as Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari during their respective tenures. Party insiders interpret the move as a strategic step to consolidate leadership in preparation for the 2029 general election.

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The BJP leadership has also factored caste equations into its Bihar selections, reflecting the importance of social arithmetic in the state’s electoral politics. While Nabin belongs to the Kayastha upper caste, Kumar’s Dalit background is seen as an attempt to strike a broader social balance.

In poll-bound West Bengal, the party has nominated veteran state leader Rahul Sinha for the Upper House. The decision comes amid efforts to address internal differences within the state unit as the BJP prepares for Assembly elections. In Assam, also heading for polls, the party has chosen Terash Gowalla, an MLA, and Jogen Mohan, a minister in the Himanta Biswa Sarma government, as its Rajya Sabha nominees.

From Haryana, the BJP has fielded Sanjay Bhatia, a former MP from Karnal, while in Chhattisgarh, Laxmi Verma, an OBC leader and former zila panchayat chief, has been nominated. In Odisha, state party chief Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar, a former BJD MP who joined the BJP in 2024, have been selected. The first list reflects a mix of organisational leaders, caste representation, and strategic positioning ahead of upcoming state and national elections.

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