New Delhi [India], Mar 3 : Lobbying for getting tickets for the Rajya Sabha elections has started among BJP leaders.
Prominent among them, according to sources in the party, are former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh and his Jharkhand counterpart Raghubar Das.
Former Madhya Pradesh CM Uma Bharti is also touted to be in the race for entry into Rajya Sabha.
The sources also said that former Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra CMs, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Devendra Fadnavis are reluctant about going to Rajya Sabha as they are still hopeful of coming back to power in their respective states. But, the final decision, in this case, rests with BJP's central leadership.
Moreover, many BJP leaders, like Prabhat Jha, Baijayant Jay Panda are also waiting to make it to the upper house.
From Maharashtra, where the BJP is getting two seats, Ramdas Athawale is being considered for Rajya Sabha as it will enable him to continue as Cabinet Minister.
New faces can come to the upper house from Bihar, and it is also speculated that the party's national general secretary Ram Madhav will be allotted a ticket from Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP is expected to get 12 to 13 seats in the election to 55 Rajya Sabha seats, which is scheduled to be held on March 26.
The nominations will begin from March 6.
The party, however, is expected to release the list of candidates a couple of days before the date for filing nominations, March 13.
With 12 to 13 seats, the BJP's number will increase to 94 or 95 in the Upper House of Parliament. With another round of elections in November, the number will further go up as the party will get some benefit from Uttar Pradesh.
It, however, looks difficult for the BJP to get to a majority mark in the Rajya Sabha.
In the RS polls on March 26, DMK and AIADMK are expected to get three seats each. JDU, BJD, and RJD are expected to get two seats each.
TMC is expected to get 5 seats, YSRCP 4, and TRS is expected to get one seat.
In 2022, the BJP may not get more seats in the Upper House as Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh have a larger number of seats but the BJP is not in power there.
In elections from these three states, the BJP is expected to get 12 to 13 seats. As of now from these three states, the BJP has 21 RS members, which is expected to reduce to half in 2022.
( With inputs from ANI )