Bhopal: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has won an uncontested Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh in a by-election to fill a vacancy in the Upper House after two other candidates’ nomination papers were rejected.
Puri’s election certificate was presented by Returning Officer Umesh Kumar Sharma of the state Legislative Assembly along with Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda, BJP MLAs Rameshwar Sharma and Bhagwandas Sabnani, after BJP Madhya Pradesh President Hemant Khandelwal handed it over.
Nomination Papers Rejected
Puri’s nomination papers were accepted by the Returning Officer on November 3 after the objection of Congress leaders and independent candidates was rejected.
However, nomination papers submitted by the other two candidates Rajkumar Lohani and Kante Sayanna were rejected.
Sayanna’s nomination was rejected as he did not comply with the minimum requirement of having either 10 per cent of the elected members of State Legislative Assembly or a minimum of 10 elected members sign his nomination papers.
Lohani’s nomination was rejected as he did not submit the mandatory Form 26 oath.
Elected Uncontested
Puri was declared elected uncontested as the deadline for withdrawing nominations expired at 3 pm on November 5. Since no other candidates were contesting, Puri was declared elected uncontested.
Vacancy Due To Resignation Of L Murugan
The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant following the resignation of Union Minister of State L Murugan on October 14. His term in the Upper House would have expired on April 2, 2030.
Puri submitted nomination papers at the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal on October 31. Present were Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, BJP State President Hemant Khandelwal, state cabinet ministers and other party leaders.