By IANS
Bhopal : Estranged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharti Sunday asked MLAs of her new party, Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS), to support the BJP’s Raghunandan Sharma for the Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh.
Sharma had left the BJP to join Bharti when she launched her party after being expelled from the BJP. However, he returned to the BJP due to differences with her on the eve of the Gujarat state elections last year.
The Rajya Sabha members from these seats presently are Suresh Pachouri of the Congress, BJP’s Maya Singh and Samajwadi Party leader Obaidullah Azmi.
The BJP has finalised three names – Rajya Sabha member Maya Singh, national secretary Prabhat Jha and Raghunandan Sharma – and they have also filed their nominations. However, it is unable to take a final decision on the priority to be accorded to the nominees.
“Bharti, in whose view Sharma is a gentle person who has always stood for Hindutva and nationhood, has urged the MLAs to support him in the ensuing Rajya Sabha polls,” said BJS state spokesman Narendra Birthare in a statement.
The BJP has 166 lawmakers in a house of 230 and requires 174 votes to secure all the three seats in its favour.