Patna, Jan 27: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders C.P. Thakur and R.K. Sinha Monday filed nomination papers for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, to be held Feb 7, officers said.

Thakur could be a sitting Rajya Sabha member, and also the BJP’s national vice president.

Last week, the party re-nominated Thakur, and named R.K. Sinha — who worked with former party chief Nitin Gadkari in the Delhi assembly polls — as another candidate for the Rajya Sabha that has 5 seats from the state up for elections this time.

Thakur belongs to the powerful land-owning higher caste of Bhumihars. The BJP leadership is assured of the support of his caste when its alliance with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United (JD-U) all over last June.

Sinha is also not a new face in the saffron party in the state. His name cropped up some years past for the higher house of parliament, however he wasn’t nominated because of caste equations in state politics being then unfavourable.

“He was aspiring to enter the Rajya Sabha for the last many years, which aspiration has currently been fulfilled,” BJP leader Sanjay Mayunkh said.

Sinha, who belongs to the Kayastha caste, is noy longer considered an adult in state politics. He runs one amongst the largest private security agencies in the country, SIS (Security and Intelligence Services India Ltd.), and features a long association with the saffron party.

Earlier, the ruling JD-U had announced the nomination of 3 new faces for the Rajya Sabha elections from the state.