New Delhi: Some key faces of the last Modi Cabinet, who did not make it to the Lok Sabha this term, could soon be seen in the Rajya Sabha. With several Parliamentarians from the Upper House contesting the recently-concluded general elections, the BJP now has as many as six vacancies there.
In the Rajya Sabha, the party will also have to look for a new leader of the house with Piyush Goyal moving to the Lok Sabha.
Some of the prominent faces that lost these elections include union ministers Smriti Irani, Arjun Munda and RK Singh, among others.
They held the Cabinet portfolios of Women and Child Development, Tribal Affairs and Power, respectively.
Sources in the BJP said that the party intends to send these politicians to the Rajya Sabha, though it remains to be seen if they will be part of the government if an extension ever happens.
Irani has been in the Rajya Sabha before, in the 2014 term, when she unsuccessfully contested from Amethi, a seat she won in 2019. This term, Singh lost from Arrah to CPIML candidate Sudama Prasad. Munda lost from the Khunti seat to Congress’s Kalicharan Munda.
Additionally, among the six faces that have left the Rajya Sabha is Piyush Goyal. So, in addition to looking for a Speaker, the party will also have to look for a Leader of the Upper House.
Apart from the four leaders, former Tripura CM Biplab Deb and Assam leader Kamakhya P Tasa. Goyal contested from the Mumbai North seat and won.
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