Samajwadi Party fields Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani as second Rajya Sabha nominee alongside Ram Gopal Yadav

The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday announced its authorised candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, naming senior leader Prof Ram Gopal Yadav and industrialist and sports administrator Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani.

The two candidates will file their nomination papers at 11 am in the presence of party national president Akhilesh Yadav, according to an official communication shared by the party on social media.

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SP's second candidate for Rajya Sabha

Nathwani's nomination makes him the party's second candidate for the Upper House. Ten Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to go to polls on October 16, with the nomination process currently underway. The Samajwadi Party, which has significant strength in the state Assembly, is seeking to secure two seats in the election.

Who is Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani?

Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani is a senior corporate executive associated with Reliance Industries Limited. He has held several positions in the group, including Group President, and has served as a director in entities such as Reliance New Energy Limited.

His responsibilities have included finance, human resources, corporate affairs, procurement and corporate social responsibility activities linked to the company's manufacturing operations in Jamnagar and Vadodara, as well as other business verticals in Gujarat.

Nathwani is the son of Parimal Dhirajlal Nathwani, a four-time Rajya Sabha member who currently represents Jharkhand in the Upper House. The elder Nathwani, an industrialist and director of corporate affairs at Reliance Industries, has been associated with the Ambani group for several years. He represented Jharkhand from 2008 to 2020 and Andhra Pradesh from 2020 to 2026.

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Dhanraj Nathwani studied international business at Regent's Business School in London and later completed an MBA specialising in corporate law and public relations management from the National Institute of Management.

He has also held prominent positions in sports administration. In November 2022, he was unanimously elected president of the Gujarat Cricket Association, succeeding Union Home Minister Amit Shah, after previously serving as its vice-president. He was involved in the development of the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which is the world's largest cricket stadium. He has also served as president of the Gujarat State Football Association.

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Beyond his corporate and sporting roles, Nathwani is associated with several social, cultural and religious organisations. These include bodies linked to the Dwarka Devasthan Samiti and other trusts involved in infrastructure and community initiatives in Gujarat.

He has also been involved in corporate social responsibility and developmental initiatives through his professional roles, and has interests in sports, wildlife and travel.