Ujjwal Nikam, Sadanandan Master, Shringla, Meenakshi Jain nominated to Rajya Sabha
Illustrious lawyer Ujwal Deorao Nikam, BJP Kerala leader Sadanandan Master, distinguished diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Indic historian Meenakshi Jain were on Sunday nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu.
The Ministry of Home issued the notification.
Nikam, known for securing death penalties, including for the lone surviving perpetrator of the dastardly 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Ajmal Kasab, had in 2024 unsuccessfully contested the high-profile Mumbai North Central seat as a BJP candidate. The BJP had dropped its two-term sitting MP Poonam Mahajan to nominate Nikam, famous for advocating capital punishment and for his line that “only the corrigible can be reformed”.
Nikam has handled several high-profile cases, including the 1993 Bombay blasts, Gulshan Kumar killing, Pramod Mahajan murder, Marine Drive rape case and the 2008 Mumbai terror attack among others.
Shringla was Chief Coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023 and has previously served as Foreign Secretary of India and India’s Ambassador to the United States, High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and Ambassador to Thailand.
Among the most notable political nominations is that of C Sadanandan Master, the BJP leader from Kerala whose legs had been brutally hacked by CPM cadres in an act of political vengeance. Master was in 2016 named as a BJP candidate from Kerala in the very first list of candidates.
He remains a significant BJP force in the political landscape of Kannur who unsuccessfully contested Koothuparambu constituency.
An RSS functionary based in Mattanur in Kannur district, Master lost his legs in January 1994. The attack on him saw instant retaliation with KV Sudheesh, an SFI leader killed that very same day in front of his elderly parents.
Meenakshi Jain is a historian with Indic perspective and has taught history in Delhi University colleges.
The MHA notification said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to nominate to the Council of States the following persons to fill the vacancies caused due to retirement of nominated members:- (i) Shri Ujjwal Deorao Nikam, (ii) Shri C. Sadanandan Master, (iii) Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, and (iv) Dr. Meenakshi Jain.”
India