Table of Contents
Neeraj Shekhar’s Rajya Sabha term ends, Chandra Shekhar family out of Parliament after 37 years
Neeraj Shekhar, son of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, has not been renominated by the BJP for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh. The BJP on October 5 announced its candidates for eight Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, but all eight sitting MPs did not find a place in the list. Neeraj Shekhar’s name is also included in these.
Neeraj Shekhar’s current Rajya Sabha term ends in November 2026. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2020 and has previously served in the Upper House. With him not being nominated again, the Chandrashekhar family’s continuous presence in Parliament will also end.
The special reason behind this development is that the Chandrashekhar family has been present in the Parliament in some form or the other for about 37 years. Now this will be the first time when no member of the family will be in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
Who is Neeraj Shekhar and how did his political journey begin?
Neeraj Shekhar is the younger son of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. His father, Chandrashekhar, was a long-serving Lok Sabha MP from Ballia and later served as Prime Minister from November 1990 to June 1991.
According to official records from the Prime Minister’s Office, Chandrashekhar first reached the Rajya Sabha in 1962 and won the Lok Sabha election from Ballia again in 1989.
After Chandrashekhar’s death in 2007, Neeraj Shekhar entered active electoral politics. He won the by-election from the Ballia Lok Sabha seat on a Samajwadi Party ticket and again won the election from the same seat in 2009.
He faced defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Subsequently, Neeraj Shekhar was elected to the Rajya Sabha by the Samajwadi Party. In 2019, he left SP and joined BJP and also resigned from Rajya Sabha.
He then entered the Rajya Sabha through a by-election on a BJP ticket, and in 2020, the party returned him to the Upper House.From Chandrashekhar to Neeraj Shekhar, a political journey spanning over four decadesChandrashekhar’s parliamentary career was quite long.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1962 and was a long-serving Member of Parliament, except for a brief break between 1984 and 1989. In 1989, he won the Lok Sabha election from Ballia and maintained a strong hold on the politics of his home constituency.
Why did BJP not give ticket to Neeraj Shekhar again?
No detailed official reason has been given by BJP for not giving ticket to Neeraj Shekhar. The party has fielded new candidates on all eight vacant seats in UP, so this decision is being seen in the context of this time’s broader candidate selection process rather than considering it to be just related to Neeraj Shekhar.
According to the report, Neeraj Shekhar is a three-time Rajya Sabha MP and currently does not hold any organisational post in the BJP. He left SP and joined BJP in July 2019.
In the new list of BJP, Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar have been made candidates. It is clear that this time the party has given priority to new names for Rajya Sabha representation in Uttar Pradesh.
What will be Neeraj Shekhar’s next political innings after leaving Parliament?
After the end of his Rajya Sabha term, Neeraj Shekhar may have many ways to remain active in politics. However, BJP has not yet announced any new responsibility for him, hence there is no definite information about his next role.
He has had a long association with the politics of Ballia and Purvanchal. He started his political career through Lok Sabha elections and later played a long innings in Rajya Sabha. In such a situation, what level his political role will be in future will depend on the next decisions of the party.
Political activities are also in full swing in the state ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. At such a time, Neeraj Shekhar’s exit from Parliament definitely marks a new phase in his political journey, but it would be premature to reach any conclusion regarding his future role.
Chandrashekhar family will no longer be present in Parliament.
The Chandrashekhar family’s presence in Parliament has been consistent since the 1980s. After Chandrashekhar, his son Neeraj Shekhar carried forward this political legacy through Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Now, after Neeraj’s tenure ends and he does not get a new ticket, no member of the family will remain in Parliament
This change is not just limited to the abolition of a Rajya Sabha seat, but is being seen as the end of a long family political chapter in Parliament. Chandrashekhar had made Ballia his main political identity and Neeraj also represented this seat in his initial electoral journey.
Now for the first time the Chandrashekhar family will be out of both the houses of Parliament. However, it would not be correct to say that the family’s political activities will end completely, because there is a possibility of return to electoral politics or some other role in the future.
What will be the next chapter of Chandra Shekhar family politics after Neeraj Shekhar?
With Neeraj Shekhar not getting the Rajya Sabha ticket, his parliamentary innings seems to be coming to an end for now. Neeraj Shekhar, 57, has a long experience in Parliament and has participated in several parliamentary debates and questions during his current tenure, according to PRS.
The biggest question for the Chandrashekhar family now will be how its political role progresses during its time out of Parliament. Amidst the family’s old political identity in Ballia and Purvanchal, Neeraj Shekhar’s next move will also be watched.
At present, it is certain that after the Rajya Sabha elections of 2026, the 37-year-old presence of the Chandrashekhar family in Parliament will come to an end. In what form this family returns to electoral politics will depend on the upcoming political decisions and circumstances.
