NEW DELHI: The BJP will not re-nominate the seven Union Ministers who will complete their terms in Rajya Sabha in April. Reports claim that Modi's move is to make them contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

As per the reports, Health Minister Mansukh Mandavya (Gujarat), Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan (Madhya Pradesh), IT Department Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Karnataka), Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav (Rajasthan), Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala (Gujarat), and Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane, and External Affairs Minister V Muraleedharan will not be re-nominated by the BJP to the Rajya Sabha. The move is to make them contest in the Lok Sabha elections from various states.

Sources suggest that Dharmendra Pradhan may contest from Sambalpur or Dhenkanal in his home state of Odisha. Bhupendra Yadav may contest from Alwar or Mahendragarh in Rajasthan. Rajeev Chandrasekhar may seek public mandate from Bengaluru.

Mansukh Mandavya and Parshottam Rupale will contest from Gujarat. The party has decided to make V Muraleedharan a candidate in Kerala. Only Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (Odisha) and Fisheries Co-Minister L Murugan (Madhya Pradesh) have been retained in the Rajya Sabha. It is noteworthy that MPs who have served two or more terms were not retained.

BJP national president JP Nadda will also contest for Rajya Sabha. The BJP has also made room for new members, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who quit the Congress recently.

In short, out of 28 Rajya Sabha MPs, only four were re-nominated. The remaining 24 may contest Lok Sabha seats. 56 seats are vacant in April. In this, 28 candidates including newcomers have been identified. There are women in the list in a bid to influence women voters.

In the five assembly elections held last November, candidates were selected through 'collective leadership'. BJP's strategy has been successful to some extent. BJP came to power in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

As part of preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, the national general secretaries met every week (on Tuesdays) to discuss matters including the selection of candidates.