BJP omits former PM’s son Nirej Shekhar from Rajya Sabha list, ending three‑decade family run

BJP’s latest Rajya Sabha candidate list, released on Monday, does not include former prime minister Chandra Shekhar’s son Nirej Shekhar, ending a three‑decade parliamentary run by the Shekhar family. Nirej Shekhar, a three‑time Rajya Sabha MP, first entered Parliament after winning the 2007 Balia Lok Sabha by‑election on a Samajwadi Party ticket following his father’s death. He retained the Balia seat in the 2009 general election, again as a SP candidate, and served as Lok Sabha MP until 2014, when he lost to BJP’s Bharat Singh during the Modi wave. After the 2014 defeat, SP placed him in the Rajya Sabha; his term ran until 2020. He later left SP, joined BJP, resigned his seat, and was re‑appointed to the upper house in 2019 and again after his 2020 term ended. His current tenure is set to finish on 25 November, and the party’s eight‑candidate list for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections omits his name, confirming the end of his legislative career. The Shekhar family has occupied either house continuously since 1989, with Chandrashekhar himself serving as Rajya Sabha member from 1962 to 1974 and winning the Balia Lok Sabha seat eight times between 1977 and 2007, suffering only one loss in 1984. With Nirej Shekhar’s exclusion, the family will have no representation for the first time in about 37 years.

Context

Rajya Sabha members are elected for six‑year terms, with one third retiring every two years. The Shekhar family’s long presence in Parliament reflected a regional political legacy in Uttar Pradesh’s Balia constituency.