JD(U) names Nitish Kumar's confidant Sanjay Kumar Jha its Rajya Sabha candidate

The BJP, the principal NDA constituent, has already named its two candidates.Jha, a former minister in the state, has long been a close associate of Kumar and enjoys good equation with the BJP, the party the JDU allied with last month after quitting the opposition INDIA bloc.He hails from the states mithilanchal region.

Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday named its general secretary Sanjay Kumar Jha, a confidant of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, as the party's candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections.

In a statement, the JD(U) said party president Nitish Kumar has named Jha its nominee for the biennial polls to the Upper House from Bihar.

Six seats from the state are falling vacant and the ruling National Democratic Alliance is expected to win at least three of them. The BJP, the principal NDA constituent, has already named its two candidates.

Jha, a former minister in the state, has long been a close associate of Kumar and enjoys good equation with the BJP, the party the JD(U) allied with last month after quitting the opposition INDIA bloc.

He hails from the state's 'mithilanchal' region. He replaces outgoing JD(U) MP Bashistha Narain Singh, a senior party leader who has not been keeping well for some time. Elections for 56 Rajya Sabha seats spread across 15 states are scheduled to be held on February 27, and the last date for filing nominations is February 15.