The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday turned its Rajya Sabha selection into the kind of surprise its chief Akhilesh Yadav had hinted at, naming Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani, Group President of Reliance Industries, as one of its two candidates from Uttar Pradesh.Nathwani will file his nomination along with the party’s secretary general, Prof Ram Gopal Yadav, in the presence of Akhilesh Yadav at 11 am. The party announced Nathwani’s candidature on its official X account on Wednesday morning, confirming the second name after Ram Gopal Yadav.The choice is notable as Nathwani comes from the corporate and sports administration world rather than conventional electoral politics. He is considered close to the Ambani family and currently serves as Group President at Reliance Industries Limited, where he looks after Corporate Affairs, Finance, HR and CSR. He also oversees the operations of Reliance’s Jamnagar and Vadodara manufacturing divisions in Gujarat.The decision gives substance to Akhilesh Yadav’s recent remark that there would be a “surprise candidate” when he was asked about the party’s likely Rajya Sabha nominees.Alongside Nathwani, the party has chosen a figure deeply rooted in its political history. A founding member of the SP and a key political strategist of party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Gopal Yadav has been a continuous member of the Rajya Sabha since 2004. He remained with Akhilesh Yadav during the internal battle for control of the Yadav family in the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections.Nathwani brings a markedly different profile to the proposed SP contingent. He is a director in other Reliance Group entities, including Reliance New Energy Limited. In sports administration, he was unanimously elected president of the Gujarat Cricket Association in 2022, succeeding Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and is also president of the Gujarat State Football Association.His public roles extend beyond business and sport. He is vice-president of the administrative committee of the Dwarkadhish Temple and directed the mega-musical show Rajadhiraj – Love, based on the life journey of Lord Krishna. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Regent Business School in London and has been involved in wildlife conservation campaigns for Gir lions.The immediate political arithmetic remains central to the nominations. The SP has the numbers among INDIA bloc MLAs to get two candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha. A third candidate, however, would require support from MLAs outside the bloc.The Nathwani nomination thus places two sharply different profiles together in the SP’s Rajya Sabha plans — a long-time party strategist and a corporate executive with a wide range of administrative and public roles.