The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri for the upcoming biennial election to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh.
The BJP had dropped
Puri from its Rajya Sabha nominations from Uttar Pradesh, naming eight candidates without retaining any of its outgoing MPs.
Hardeep Singh Puri’s tenure in the Upper House is due to conclude in November. His nomination to the Rajya Sabha biennial election is likely to fuel speculations over a possible cabinet reshuffle at the Centre.
Why The Seat Was Vacated?
The Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh was vacated after BJP leader L. Murugan resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the Union Council of Ministers on October 14.
Murugan said he wanted to return to grassroots politics and focus on strengthening the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
The biennial election to the Rajya Sabha will be held on November 12, and the last date to file nomination is November 2.
Since Murugan’s original term was due to end on April 2, 2030, the winner will serve the remaining portion of that term.
Hardeep Puri’s Political Journey
Hardeep Singh Puri was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in January 2018 from Uttar Pradesh, succeeding former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. His term formally ends on November 25, 2026.
Puri is a retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) diplomat. He also served as the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013. He had fought the Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar in 2019, but lost by around 1 lakh votes.
Since 2018, Puri has held senior cabinet minister roles under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. He became Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs.
After the 2019 elections, Puri was appointed as a Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation.
In 2021, he became the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas.
