BJP Picks George Kurian for Rajya Sabha Amid Madhya Pradesh Power Shift

The BJP has chosen George Kurian, Union Minister of State, as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh, following Jyotiraditya Scindia's move to the Lok Sabha. With a strong majority in the state assembly, Kurian is poised for a win in the upcoming elections on September 3.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced on Tuesday that Union Minister of State George Kurian will be its candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. This seat became vacant after Jyotiraditya Scindia won his election to the Lok Sabha.

Scindia, who currently serves as Union Minister of Communications, vacated his Rajya Sabha seat subsequent to his electoral win in the Guna constituency during the general elections earlier this year.

Elections for 12 vacant Rajya Sabha seats across nine states are scheduled for September 3. Of Madhya Pradesh's 11 Rajya Sabha seats, three belong to the Congress and seven to the ruling BJP. Kurian, who hails from Kerala and serves as the MoS for Minority Affairs, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, is expected to win comfortably if the opposition fields a candidate, given the BJP's robust presence in the state assembly.

The Madhya Pradesh assembly, comprising 230 members, sees the BJP holding 163 seats, Congress 64, and the Bharat Adivasi Party one. Presently, two seats are vacant.

(With inputs from agencies.)