SP set to re-nominate Jaya Bachchan to RS

The Samajwadi Party (SP) is all set to re-nominate actor-turned-politician Jaya Bachchan for a fourth term in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

Jaya's re-nomination has come as a surprise as it was widely speculated that the SP could opt for one of its active state leaders for a berth in the Upper House.

The SP, which enjoyed a comfortable majority in the UP assembly till its rout at the hands of the BJP last year, is set to be the biggest loser in the March 23 Rajya Sabha elections. Six SP members are retiring from the Upper House and with reduced numbers, the party is in a position to get only one member elected.

Besides Jaya, prominent among the SP retirees is Naresh Agarwal, who plays an active role in the Upper House.

However, the SP has chosen Jaya over Agarwal, who is also a seven-term MLA from Uttar Pradesh.

SP Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh took a swipe at Agarwal's "experience" and said that Jaya was chosen for her loyalty to the party.

"Naresh Agarwal has joined many parties. He started his career in the Congress. He was a member of the cabinet of Rajnath Singh. Then intermittently he was in the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and then he joined Samajwadi Party. He is widely experienced.

"As far as Jaya Bachchan is concerned, she was consistently loyal to the Samajwadi Party and to the party's system. She has been loyal to the hierarchy of the SP. So she has proven to be a better politician than Naresh Agarwal," Singh said.