Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Bimal Jalan, Bollywood actress and star Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaigner Hema Malini and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Kasturirangan were among seven people nominated by the government to the Rajya Sabha.
With these nominations, the strength of the BJP and its allies will be 123 in the Upper House against 122 of the combined Opposition, said SS Ahluwalia, BJP chief whip in the Rajya Sabha.
The other nominations were wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh, the editor of The Pioneer, Chandan Mitra, Hindi scholar and journalist Vidya Niwas Mishra and social worker Narayan Singh.
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These seats had fallen vacant following retirement of eight nominated members including actress-turned-social activist Shabana Azmi, nuclear physicist Raja Rammana and veteran journalist Kuldip Nayyar.
Hema Malini and Jalan