New Delhi/Agency: Union Petroleum Minister and BJP candidate Hardeep Singh Puri was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, an official said. Puri was declared elected by Returning Officer Umesh Sharma on the last day of withdrawal of nominations. He was the only candidate left in the contest after the nomination papers of the other two candidates were rejected during scrutiny.
Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal collected Puri’s certificate of election from the returning officer in the presence of party MLA Rameshwar Sharma. The nominations of Kante Sayanna and Rajkumar Lohani, who was backed by the Congress, were rejected during scrutiny. The bypoll was scheduled for November 12 if voting became necessary. However, Puri’s election was confirmed unopposed.
The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant following the resignation of former Union Minister L Murugan last month. His term in the Upper House was scheduled to continue until April 2, 2030. The BJP subsequently nominated Puri, a former diplomat who later entered politics, as its candidate for the by-election.
