Hardeep Singh Puri Elected Unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wins the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha by-election unopposed after other nominations were rejected.
In a significant political development, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. The victory comes following a by-election to the Upper House where the nominations of opposing candidates were rejected, leaving the senior BJP leader as the sole contender in the fray.
The Handover of the Election Certificate
The formal process culminated on Thursday at the state Legislative Assembly. BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal received the official certificate of election for Hardeep Singh Puri from the Returning Officer, Umesh Kumar Sharma. The occasion was marked by the presence of several high-profile leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda and BJP MLAs Rameshwar Sharma and Bhagwandas Sabnani.
How the Contest Became a Walkover
While the process began with multiple aspirants, a series of technical failures during the scrutiny of nomination papers cleared the path for the Union Minister. Although Congress leaders and independent candidates had raised objections, these were dismissed by the Returning Officer on November 3, and Puri's nomination was accepted.
The two other candidates, Rajkumar Lohani and Kante Sayanna, saw their bids end prematurely due to the following reasons:
- Kante Sayanna: His nomination was rejected because he failed to meet the mandatory requirement of obtaining signatures from 10 per cent of the elected members of the State Legislative Assembly (or 10 elected members, whichever is fewer).
- Rajkumar Lohani: His candidacy was disqualified after he failed to submit the required Form 26 affidavit by the strict 3 PM deadline on November 2.
With the deadline for the withdrawal of nominations closing at 3 PM on November 5 and no other valid candidates remaining, Hardeep Singh Puri was declared the winner unopposed.
Background of the Vacancy
The seat in the Upper House became available following the resignation of Union Minister of State L Murugan on October 14. The term for this particular seat is originally scheduled to run until April 2, 2030.
A High-Profile Nomination
The journey to this victory began on October 31, when Hardeep Singh Puri filed his nomination papers at the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal. The filing was a major event, attended by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal, and various state cabinet ministers and party leaders.