BJP fields EAM S Jaishankar, JM Thakor as its candidates for Rajya Sabha from Gujarat

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday fielded External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and JM Thakor as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. The seats fell vacant after Union Ministers Amit Shah and Smriti Irani won the Lok Sabha elections 2019. 

Jaishankar formally joined the BJP on Monday in the presence of party working president JP Nadda. Jaishankar, a career diplomat and a former foreign secretary, was inducted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his government as external affairs minister. 

His joining the BJP was a mere formality after he was inducted in the government. He became a party member at a ceremony at its office in Parliament. By-polls to two Rajya Sabha seats were necessitated after BJP president Amit Shah and another party leader Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha, causing the vacancies.

He was sworn in as a Cabinet minister along with other members of the government on May 30. The He has to be a Member of Parliament within six months of his swearing in. 

The BJP is set to win both the seats. It has named Jugalji Mathurji Thakor its candidate for the second seat.