The Samajwadi Party named Reliance executive Dhanraj Nathwani as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Uttar Pradesh. He filed his nomination in Lucknow for the October 16 election. Nathwani said, "Today, in the presence of Honorable Akhilesh Yadav ji in Lucknow, I filed my nomination for the Rajya Sabha."
The Samajwadi Party has named Dhanraj Nathwani, a senior Reliance Industries executive and son of Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani, as its candidate for the Upper House from Uttar Pradesh.
The move extends the Nathwani family's parliamentary journey across states and rival political camps, months after the NDA backed Parimal Nathwani's return to the Rajya Sabha.
Dhanraj Nathwani was named alongside veteran leader Ram Gopal Yadav for the October 16 Rajya Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh, where 10 seats are due to be filled ahead of the Assembly polls next year.
Based on the current strength in the Assembly, the BJP-led alliance is expected to win eight seats and the Samajwadi Party two.
Dhanraj Nathwani, group president at Reliance Industries and president of the Gujarat Cricket Association, filed his nomination in Lucknow in the presence of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
In a post on X, he said, "I extend my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Honorable National President, Shri Akhilesh Yadav ji, for nominating me as the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. Today, in the presence of Honorable Akhilesh Yadav ji in Lucknow, I filed my nomination for the Rajya Sabha, marking a new phase in my public life."
His responsibilities at Reliance include overseeing the Jamnagar manufacturing divisions, exercising strategic oversight over the Jio business in Gujarat, leading the engineering, procurement and construction vertical, and overseeing Reliance Jio Defence System Limited.
He is also vice chairperson of the Dwarkadhish Temple Administrative Committee and is a member of the Nathdwara Temple Board and the Gujarat State Board for Wildlife.
While Parimal Nathwani, Reliance Industries' director-corporate affairs, secured a fourth consecutive Rajya Sabha term in June with BJP-led NDA backing, his son is seeking entry to Parliament through one of the BJP's principal opponents in Uttar Pradesh.
Asked about the decision to field Dhanraj Nathwani, a senior SP leader said, "We surprised you, didn't we? Wait for more such surprises."
Parimal Nathwani first entered the Rajya Sabha as an Independent from Jharkhand in 2008. He won a second term in 2014 with the support of the BJP and the All Jharkhand Students Union.
Ahead of the 2014 Jharkhand Assembly elections, his intervention reportedly helped bring the BJP and AJSU together for an alliance.
The alliance won 42 of the 81 seats, with the BJP taking 37 and AJSU five, and BJP leader Raghubar Das became chief minister.
In 2020, Parimal Nathwani reached the Rajya Sabha through Andhra Pradesh after being nominated by the then ruling YSR Congress Party.
The nomination followed a meeting on February 29, 2020, between Reliance chairperson Mukesh Ambani and then Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, which was also attended by Ambani's son Anant and Parimal Nathwani.
After filing his nomination the next month, Parimal Nathwani told reporters that Ambani had discussed pending projects with the chief minister.
Six years later, Parimal Nathwani returned to Jharkhand as an NDA-backed Independent. He won in June amid cross-voting from the ruling JMM-led coalition, defeating Congress nominee Pranav Jha even though the alliance appeared to have enough numbers to win the seat.
Dhanraj Nathwani's nomination comes days after the BJP and Congress traded barbs over the absence of Mukesh Ambani's photograph from a presentation shown at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's press conference on the Election Commission.
At the Chhatron Ki Goonj programme in Indore on September 19, Gandhi named Ambani among six people he alleged were running the country's "system", along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and industrialist Gautam Adani.
At Gandhi's September 24 press conference in Delhi, the photographs displayed as alleged "conspirators" included Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Modi, Shah, Bhagwat, Doval and Adani, but not Ambani.
BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh then posted on X on September 25, "What transpired between Indore & Delhi for omissions & additions .!!!??? Can some genius minds shed light ??" Congress leader Pawan Khera responded, "Why are you upset? You figure in both - of course as a pawn!"
The Nathwani family also has a long association with cricket administration in Gujarat. Dhanraj Nathwani was elected president of the Gujarat Cricket Association in November 2022, succeeding Amit Shah. Modi had headed the association before Shah.
Parimal Nathwani served as its vice president, and the association's official account credits him, Amit Shah and Jay Shah with executing the Narendra Modi Stadium project.
Dhanraj Nathwani is also a member of the board of governors of Pandit Dindayal Energy University and is associated with the Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute.
A senior party leader said, "His corporate responsibilities and institutional roles have given him experience across business, infrastructure, sports and public institutions. His nomination by the Samajwadi Party now brings that experience into the political arena, with Uttar Pradesh becoming the focus of his proposed parliamentary role."
With the Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha election due on October 16, his candidature has brought the family's cross-party and cross-state political journey into focus once again.