BJP President Amit Shah to contest Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat

BJP president Amit Shah is set to make his debut as a member of Parliament with the BJP parliamentary board today announcing that he will contest the August 8 Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat.

Union minister Smriti Irani will also contest the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat from where she is already an MP and her term ends on August 18.

Shah at present is an MLA from Gujarat, where BJP has a government.

Their names were announced by senior party leader J P Nadda after the meeting of the party panel.

The terms of nine Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat and West Bengal are ending on August 18. These include Irani, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien.

Out of the 9 retiring members, four are from the Trinamool Congress, two from the Congress, two from the BJP and one from the CPI-M.

The retirement of Ahmed Patel (Cong), Dilipbhai Pandya (BJP) and Irani (BJP) -- all from Gujarat -- is due on August 18.

The tenure of members from West Bengal -- O'Brien (TMC), Debabrata Bandhopadhyay (TMC), Pradip Bhattacharya (Cong), Yechury (CPM), Sukhenduhakhar Roy (TMC) and Dola Sen (TMC) ends on August 18.