Bharatiya Janata Party has named External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat after he joined the BJP in the presence of its Working President JP Nadda.
Gujarat Rajya Sabha bypolls were necessitated after BJP President Amit Shah and Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha from Gandhinagar and Amethi, respectively. The BJP is set to win both the Rajya Sabha seats. It has named Jugalji Mathurji Thakor its candidate for the second seat.
S Jaishankar, a career diplomat and former foreign secretary, was inducted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Union Cabinet and given charge of the External Affairs Ministry. He was sworn in as a cabinet minister along with other members of the government on May 30.
S Jaishankar joining the BJP was a mere formality after his swearing-in. He became a party member at a ceremony at its office in Parliament. A minister who is not Member of Parliament has to be elected as its member within six months of him taking charge.
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