BJP candidates from Rajasthan file RS nominations

Jaipur, March 12 (IANS) Three BJP candidates in Rajasthan -- Bhupendra Yadav, Kirorilal Meena and former MLA Madanlal Saini -- filed their nominations on Monday for the March 23 Rajya Sabha polls, officials said.

Yadav is Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national General Secretary. Meena joined the BJP on Sunday. 

Saini has been selected for the Rajya Sabha polls to attract the voters from Mali class. He has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as well, informed sources said. 

The nomination papers will be reviewed on Tuesday.

As there is no other official candidate in the fray, it is presumed that all three candidates will have a smooth entry in the Rajya Sabha which would make a total strength of 10 BJP MPs in the Upper House from Rajasthan. 

However, at the same time, there would be no Congress member in this House from the state.

The BJP MPs from Rajasthan already in the Rajya Sabha are Ramkumar Verma, Narayanlal Panchariya, Ramnarayan Dudi, K.J. Alphons, Vijay Goyal and Om Prakash Mathur.

According to informed sources, Yadav is one of the favourites of BJP President Amit Shah. His strategic planning in the 2013 Rajasthan assembly elections was yet another reason for getting the Rajya Sabha nomination, and is also expected to play a key role in the 2018 assembly polls.

Kirorilal Meena was re-inducted into the party keeping in mind the political mileage factor. He has been a favourite leader of Meena community, a major vote bank in Rajasthan. 

A few months ago, he had announced that he was forming a third front in the state. But on Sunday, he denied any such possibility.