At least four senior leaders of Chhattisgarh's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are lobbying hard for the state's lone Rajya Sabha berth, which was vacated last month by party leader Dilip Sigh Judeo, party sources here said Thursday.
BJP national vice-president Karuna Shukla, who is also the niece of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tribal leader Nandkumar Sai, former assembly speaker Premprakash Pandey and state general secretary (organisation) Rampratap Singh are the top claimants for the Rajya Sabha berth.
Party sources said the BJP state unit will shortlist by the end of this month the name for the August election to the Rajya Sabha seat. The nominee will finally be approved by the central leadership.
Judeo had resigned from the upper house after being elected to the Lok Sabha from the state's Bilaspur constituency.