Ahmedabad, July 10: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will file his nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat on Monday, a BJP official confirmed.
Jaishankar arrived in Ahmedabad on Sunday and was received at the airport by state Minister Raghavji Patel, city Mayor Kirit Parmar, and other BJP functionaries.
Pradeepsinh Vaghela, the Gujarat BJP general secretary, announced that Jaishankar, whose term is set to end on August 18 along with two other Rajya Sabha members from the state, is scheduled to submit his nomination form at around noon on Monday.
While the BJP has not yet officially declared the candidates for the three Rajya Sabha seats, which are scheduled to go to the polls on July 24, Jaishankar’s nomination was considered certain.
The last date for filing nominations is July 13, and the deadline for withdrawal of nominations is July 17.
If necessary, polling will take place on July 24.
The Congress, on the other hand, confirmed on July 7 that it will not field candidates for the three seats from Gujarat due to a lack of sufficient MLAs in the 182-member state Assembly.
In the 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls the BJP secured a record 156 seats, while the Congress had its weakest performance in the state with just 17 seats.
Among the 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat, eight are currently held by the BJP, with the remaining three occupied by the Congress.
Of the eight BJP-held seats, the terms of Jaishankar, Jugalji Thakor, and Dinesh Anavadiya will end on August 18.
