Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday formally secured all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh after its candidates received their certificates of election from the Returning Officer (RO) at the state Assembly.
The certificates were handed over to BJP nominees Tarun Chugh, Rajneesh Kumar Agrawal and Mahesh Kewat at the Vidhan Sabha premises in Bhopal. All three were declared elected unopposed after the nomination of the Congress candidate was rejected.
Among the three newly elected BJP members, Tarun Chugh is the party’s national General Secretary and is considered a key organisational strategist. Rajneesh Kumar Agrawal is an industrialist from Sagar, while Mahesh Kewat represents the Bundelkhand region.
The development brought an end to what was initially expected to be a contested Rajya Sabha election. The Congress had fielded former MP Meenakshi Natarajan, but the Returning Officer rejected her nomination earlier this week.
The rejection followed objections raised during the scrutiny of nomination papers. Officials did not disclose the exact grounds for the decision, but the move effectively removed the Congress from the electoral contest.
With no other valid nominations remaining, the BJP candidates were elected without a vote. The party said the outcome reflected its legislative majority and organisational strength in the state Assembly.
BJP leaders and workers gathered at the Assembly premises and the party office in Bhopal to welcome the three leaders after they collected their election certificates. Slogans were raised as the newly elected members emerged from the Assembly building.
The Congress has challenged the rejection of Natarajan’s nomination. The party held protests in Bhopal and New Delhi, alleging that the Election Commission denied it a fair opportunity to contest the election.
With the issuance of the certificates, the BJP has retained all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh that were up for election.
With IANS inputs