Jaya Bachchan, who chose to remain with the Samajwadi Party after her political mentor Amar Singh was expelled, was on Wednesday rewarded by the SP which renominated her to the Rajya Sabha for another six-year term.
Jaya Bachchan, who chose to remain with the Samajwadi Party after her political mentor Amar Singh was expelled, was on Wednesday rewarded by the SP which renominated her to the Rajya Sabha for another six-year term.
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The SP sprang a surprise by nominating Bachchan for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections next month from Uttar Pradesh along with former Union Minister Rashid Masood.
"SP has nominated Jaya Bachchan for Rajya Sabha as she has been a party loyalist and has worked hard for strengthening the party," Akhilesh Yadav, son of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, told reporters here.
Jaya, the 62-year-old film actor-turned-politician, was close to Amar Singh as was her husband Amitabh Bachchan, but this changed with Jaya not heeding Singh's call to quit SP after he was expelled in February this year. She did not attend Singh's 'Kshatriya' rally in March this year, a move which was seen as a setback to him, forcing him to admit that he was "missing" her on the occasion.
SP MP Jaya Prada had backed Singh after his departure from the party and was soon expelled from it. Owing to Jaya Bachchan's proximity to Singh, there was speculation within the party that she would not be given ticket again and the SP may field its national spokesperson Mohan Singh to one of two Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant.
Due to the depleted strength of the party in Uttar Pradesh assembly, it is in a position to nominate only two leaders to Rajya Sabha, from where seven of its sitting MPs are retiring in July this year, including Jaya Bachchan.
SP has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs after the recent death of its sitting member Virendra Bhatia.
For the Legislative Council in UP, the party would field three candidates - Balram Yadav, Ram Sunder Das Nishad and Ram Naresh Yadav (sitting MLC), party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said.
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