BJP Drops Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Seven Other Sitting MPs from Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha Candidate List

The BJP named eight candidates for the October 16 Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh on October 5, 2026: Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar. The list has three OBC, two SC and three general-category candidates. None of the eight outgoing BJP members was renominated, including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, Arun Singh, Seema Dwivedi, Neeraj Shekhar, Brij Lal, Geeta Shakya and Dinesh Sharma, now Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The party gave no reason for Puri's exclusion. Polling covers 10 seats, and the BJP is expected to win eight and the SP two.

Puri's and Verma's Rajya Sabha terms end November 25. Their omission has fuelled speculation about a Cabinet reshuffle, and under Article 75(5) of the Constitution a minister who is not a member of either House for six consecutive months ceases to hold office. Deccan Herald reads the slate as an attempt to settle caste equations before the 2027 assembly elections.

Sources

Deccan Herald, October 5, 2026, deccanherald.com ETV Bharat, October 5, 2026, etvbharat.com National Herald, October 5, 2026, nationalheraldindia.com Business Today, October 5, 2026, businesstoday.in India.com, October 5, 2026, india.com