Guwahati, Sept 18: The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday nominated former Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal and Minister of State, L Murugan for the Rajya Sabha by-election scheduled for October 4.
Sonowal,who is the incumbent Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, will be the nominee for the seat that has fallen vacant from Assam. Murugan will be the party’s nominee for the vacancy that has arisen in Madhya Pradesh.
Both leaders need to be elected to the Rajya Sabha in order to continue their current roles in the Union Government.
In Assam, the by-poll was necessitated after BJP member Biswajit Daimary resigned from the Upper house.
Daimary is now the Speaker of the Assembly in Assam.
Five of the six Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant after the resignation of members from West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
The sixth seat fell vacant after the demise of Rajeev Shankarrao Satav, who was the member of the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra.
Currently, Sarbananda Sonowal is the MLA from Majuli constituency.
Sources said it was earlier decided when Biswajit Daimary resigned from the Rajya Sabha to contest the Assam Assembly election.
Sarbananda Sonowal was the Chief Minister of Assam from 2016-21. In 2021 Assam Assembly election, BJP formed the government in Assam but Sonowal stepped down as Chief Minister to help Himanta Biswa Sarma to become the Chief Minister of Assam.
