Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh on Thursday after the nomination papers of two other candidates were rejected, leaving him as the sole contestant in the by-election.
BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal received Puri’s certificate of election from Returning Officer Umesh Kumar Sharma at the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal. Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda and BJP MLAs Rameshwar Sharma and Bhagwandas Sabnani were also present.
The result followed the completion of the nomination withdrawal process at 3 pm on November 5. With no other candidate remaining in the contest, Puri was declared elected unopposed to the Upper House.
Why Were The Other Candidates’ Nominations Rejected?
Puri’s nomination papers were accepted by the Returning Officer on November 3 after objections raised by Congress leaders and independent candidates were dismissed during scrutiny.
The nomination papers of Rajkumar Lohani and Kante Sayanna, the two other candidates, were rejected on procedural grounds.
According to the election order, Sayanna’s nomination did not meet the mandatory requirement of signatures from 10 per cent of elected members of the State Legislative Assembly or 10 elected members, whichever was fewer.
Lohani’s nomination was rejected because he failed to submit the mandatory Form 26 affidavit by the 3 pm deadline on November 2, 2026.
Rajya Sabha Seat Fell Vacant After L Murugan’s Resignation
The Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha seat became vacant after Union Minister of State L Murugan resigned on October 14. His original term was scheduled to end on April 2, 2030.
Puri had filed his nomination papers at the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in Bhopal on October 31. The filing took place in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal, state ministers and other party leaders.
His unopposed election fills the vacancy created by Murugan’s resignation.
