Akhilesh Trades Rajya Sabha Seat To Pad Up For UP Polls, Putting PDA Formula At Risk

In an interesting move ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections early next year, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was found nominating Dhanraj Nathwani, son of a close Reliance aide Parimal Nathwani to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.  It is being said Dhanraj and Anant Ambani are very close buddies. Apparently, Delhi dispensation also gave its quiet nod. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was however kept out of the loop. It is also being said Dimple Yadav and Nita Ambani apparently settled the Rajya Sabha matter in London. Picking a Nathwani for Rajya Sabha was deemed to be useful for the Samajwadi Party which was looking to pad up in an election year. The buzz is Dhanraj Nathwani is said to be close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s son Jay. With his entry into the RS, Dhanraj will be teaming up with his father Parimal who got elected to the RS from Jharkhand as an independent candidate backed by the NDA and the JMM in June 2026. Parimal Nathwani had defeated Congress candidate Pranav Jha much to the consternation of the Congress. Dhanraj’s entry into the Rajya Sabha means the father-son duo will remain on the opposite side of political divide. As for Akhilesh Yadav, his high sounding PDA formula for reaching out to Muslim-Yadav-Dalit vote bank will certainly go for a toss.