Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday secured all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh after its candidates were officially declared elected.
Returning Officer Arvind Sharma handed over certificates of election to BJP candidates Rajneesh Agrawal, Tarun Chugh and Mahesh Kevat at around 3:30 pm, confirming their victory.
The development came after legal efforts by the Congress failed to halt the election process. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court deferred the hearing on Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan’s plea challenging the rejection of her nomination papers until Friday.
Natarajan had approached the apex court seeking relief against the Returning Officer’s decision to reject her nomination. However, the court declined to interfere with the ongoing electoral process and did not grant any interim stay on the declaration of results.
The Election Commission also did not issue any order affecting the election process, paving the way for the formal declaration of the BJP candidates as elected.
With the issuance of election certificates, the BJP has successfully captured all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh, strengthening its representation in the Upper House of Parliament.
The Congress has alleged irregularities in the rejection of Natarajan’s nomination and continues to pursue legal remedies, even as the BJP’s victory in the state’s Rajya Sabha elections now stands officially confirmed.
