BJP Names Sanjay Bhatia As Rajya Sabha Candidate From Haryana
The BJP has fielded former MP Sanjay Bhatia as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election from Haryana.
Published : March 3, 2026 at 6:03 PM IST
Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named former MP Sanjay Bhatia as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election in Haryana. Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled for two seats from the state. The terms of sitting MPs Kiran Choudhry and Ramchandra Jangra are set to end on April 9. Polling for the seats will be held on March 16, while March 5 is the last date for filing nominations.
The BJP announced Bhatia’s candidature on Tuesday afternoon as part of its list of candidates for Rajya Sabha polls in different states.
Sanjay Bhatia, a BJP leader from Panipat, has previously served as an MP. He has been associated with the party’s student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He became a mandal secretary in 1987 and later served as a district general secretary of ABVP in 1989. In 1998, he was appointed state general secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha.
Bhatia was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019 from the Karnal constituency, defeating Congress candidate Kuldeep Sharma by a margin of over 6.5 lakh votes, securing more than 11 lakh votes. However, he was not fielded by the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which the party nominated former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal. Bhatia has also served as chairman of the Haryana Khadi and Village Industries Board and has remained active in state politics.
According to current Rajya Sabha representation from Haryana, the state is represented by Kiran Choudhry, Rekha Sharma, Ramchandra Jangra and Subhash Barala of the BJP, while Kartikeya Sharma is an independent member.
According to the current strength in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 48 MLAs, the Congress 37, Independents have three, and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has two members.
In the Rajya Sabha election, a candidate requires at least 31 votes to secure victory. With 48 MLAs, the BJP is comfortably placed to win one seat. After accounting for 31 votes for its first candidate, the party will have 17 votes remaining. The Congress, with 37 MLAs, can also secure one seat by allocating 31 votes, leaving it with six surplus votes.
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