Four out of seven vacancies are filled in the category of eminent persons nominated by the President
Four out of seven vacancies are filled in the category of eminent persons nominated by the President
Olympic sprinter PT Usha, music composer Ilaiyaraaja, Dharmasthala temple philanthropist Virendra Hegde and blockbuster screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad bahubali And RRR, Nominated to the Rajya Sabha in the category of eminent persons nominated by the President of India.
In all, the President of India nominates 12 persons to the Rajya Sabha – individuals who are known for their excellence in the fields of arts and letters, and public service. Seven of these 12 seats are currently vacant, out of which four have now been filled.
All the four candidates are from the four southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh respectively. All four nominees are achievers in their own right, but also reflect a southern push in terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus.
Born in Kozhikode, Kerala, Ms. Usha is not only India’s most renowned track and field athlete, but she also runs the Usha School of Athletics, which trains young athletes in the sport. He has been awarded Arjuna Award and Padma Shri in the past.
Sri Ilaiyaraaja, a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan, and numerous awards for his music, has composed over 7,000 songs for over 1,000 films (mainly in South India), and has over 20,000 to his credit. There are concerts.
Mr Hegde has been the ‘dharmadhikari’ (patron) of the Dharmasthala temple in Karnataka since the age of 20. A philanthropist, he also runs the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust, which provides education through over 25 institutions. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.
KV Vijayendra Prasad is the well-known screenwriter behind the films that are making a splash in India and abroad.
Sivaji Ganesan (1982–86), Vyjayanthimala Bali (1993–99) and “Cho” S. Ramaswamy (1999–2005) are other Tamil film personalities who have served as nominated members of the Rajya Sabha.