20 February,2024 06:21 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ashok Chavan had joined the BJP in presence of Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
All six candidates from Maharashtra in the fray for Rajya Sabha elections 2024, including Congress turncoat Ashok Chavan, were on Tuesday declared elected unopposed, reported the PTI.
Among the six, the BJP had fielded three nominees including Ashok Chavan, and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP one each. The opposition Congress had fielded one nominee, as per the PTI.
The BJP nominees declared elected unopposed include Ashok Chavan, former MLA Medha Kulkarni, and RSS worker Ajit Gopchade.
The nominees of Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are ex-Congress MP Milind Deora and Praful Patel, respectively.
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The Congress had nominated Dalit leader Chandrakant Handore, the lone candidate from the opposition.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Tuesday, officials said.
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore were also elected unopposed to the Upper House from the state, Assembly Secretary Mahaveer Prasad Sharma said. Tuesday was the last day for withdrawing nominations.
As no other candidates were contesting, the three leaders were elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed, the officer said.
The tenure of Rajya Sabha members Manmohan Singh (Congress) and Bhupendra Yadav (BJP) is ending on April 3. The third seat fell vacant after the BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena resigned from the House in December after being elected MLA.
The BJP has 115 members and the Congress 70 in the 200-member assembly.
There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan. After the results, Congress has six members and the BJP four.
All five candidates in the fray for Rajya Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh, including Union minister L Murugan and three others from BJP, were on Tuesday declared unopposed, an official said.
They were declared unopposed as only five nominations were received for as many seats falling vacant till the last day of the withdrawal of nominations (February 20).
"All five candidates, including four from the BJP and one from the Congress, were declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha by the Returning Officer," the official said.
The four candidates from BJP include Union minister L Murugan, Valmiki Dham Ashram head Umesh Nath Maharaj, Kisan Morcha's national vice president Banshilal Gurjar, and Madhya Pradesh BJP's women wing president Maya Naroliya.
The lone nominee of Congress to be declared unopposed is MP party unit treasurer Ashok Singh.
Except for Umesh Nath Maharaj, the four candidates have collected their winning certificates from the returning officer, the official added.
(with PTI inputs)
