Jaswant Singh, deputy chairman of Planning Commission and Pramod Mahajan, political advisor to Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, are likely to be brought to the Rajya Sabha, when the biennial elections to the Upper House take place next month. The new members are to be elected by July 4.
The two BJP leaders who were strong ministerial candidateshad to remain out of the Union Cabinet because they were not MPs. While Jaswant was made the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Mahajan was appointed the political advisor to the PM. Singh was the finance minister and Mahajan held the defence portfolio during BJP's 13-day government in 1996.
Sources in the party attached significance to their induction into Rajya Sabha, particularly when the Prime Minister is due to expand his Cabinet in a few months time.
