Lucknow, Oct. 1 -- The Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh were shaping up as a routine and predictable numbers game in which the BJP was poised to win eight seats and the Samajwadi Party (SP) two. But the sudden entry of Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani, a corporate executive with Gujarat connections, as a Samajwadi Party candidate has spiced up the battle.

Nathwani, a senior corporate executive associated with Reliance Industries and sports administrator from Gujarat, was a surprise choice for a party when the names doing the rounds included former chief secretary Alok Ranjan and former Union minister Salim Iqbal Sherwani, besides five-term Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav.

The SP on Wednesday formally named Ram Gopal Yadav and Nathwani,...