BJP and Congress Release First List of Rajya Sabha Candidates

HEADLINE: BJP and Congress Release First List of Rajya Sabha Candidates The BJP and Congress have announced their first candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The BJP named Tarun Chugh and Rajnish Agrawal from Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan the party selected Satish Poonia and Alka Gurjar. Congress also released a list of seven candidates. The party nominated Mallikarjun Kharge Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan from Karnataka. Other Congress candidates include Meenakshi Natarajan Neeraj Dangi Praveen Chakravarty and Pranav Jha. A Rajya Sabha by-election will also be held in Odisha after a recent resignation created a vacant seat. The elections are expected to be closely watched across several states. ---- Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy Resigns Over Portfolio Dispute Karnataka cabinet minister Ramalinga Reddy has resigned from his ministerial post after expressing disappointment over the allocation of government departments. Reddy wanted the Bengaluru Development portfolio but was assigned the Water Resources Department. Speaking to the media he said he remains a member of the Congress party and has not resigned from the organization. He added that he has served the party for more than five decades and never demanded a ministerial position. Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar recently distributed responsibilities among ministers leading to the disagreement.