Rajya Sabha polls: BJP's Thawar Chand Gehlot, Ajay Pratap Singh and Kailash Soni file nomination

Bhopal: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Thawar Chand Gehlot, Ajay Pratap Singh and Kailash Soni on Monday filed nominations for Rajya Sabha elections in Bhopal.

Earlier on Sunday, the BJP released a list of 18 candidates for the biennial elections for the 58 Rajya Sabha seats.

Kailash Soni heads the party's Narsinghpur district unit, while Ajay Pratap Singh has contested the assembly elections in 2003 and 2008.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Manoj Jha and Ashfaque Karim have also filed nomination papers for Rajya Sabha in Patna.

The elections will be held on March 23 and the deadline for submission of nominations ends today.

There will be 59 vacancies in the Rajya Sabha in April, including 17 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 12 from the Congress party. 

Three nominated members - actor Rekha, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and social worker Anu Aga - will also retire then.