Jaya Bachchan Set to be Rajya Sabha Nominee

New Delhi, Mar 07: In what came as a surprise for many, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday decided to name veteran actress and parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan as its candidate for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, reports said.

Bachchan was chosen over seven times Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Hardoi constituency, Naresh Agrawal.

"Jaya Bachchan was consistently loyal to the Samajwadi Party, its system and hierarchy. She has proved to be better a politician than Naresh Agrawal," Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh told to media.

Rajya Sabha elections for 10 UP seats are scheduled for March 23. As per the electoral college in the state, minimum 37 MLA votes are required win one seat. This way, Samajwadi Party, which has 47 MLAs, is in a position to get only 1 member elected to the House. On the other hand, Mayawati's BSP has only 19 MLAs and henceforth can't send its representative to Rajya Sabha.