Reliance Industries vice-chairman Anil Ambani would contest the Rajya Sabha election as an independent candidate from Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh said his party will support Ambani as a candidate from Uttar Pradesh. But he made it clear that Ambani would be filing his nomination as an independent candidate

Ambani is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Energy.

"We will give our full support to Anil Ambani," Singh said.

Forty-five-year old Anil is a management graduate from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and jointly heads the Rs 80,000 crore Reliance Group with his elder brother Mukesh.

Anil, married to cinestar of yesteryears Tina Munim, joined Reliance in 1983 as co-executive officer and was credited for directing Reliance in its efforts to raise over two billion dollars for overseas markets with a 100-year Yankee bond issue in January, 1997.

He was also rated as India's "Most Admired CEO" for the fifth consective year in the Business Baron-TNS Mode opinion poll last year and was voted "MTV Youth Icon of the Year" in September, 2003.