JAIPUR, Feb 20 : Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Tuesday, officials said.
The BJP’s Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore were also elected unopposed to the Upper House from the state, they said.
Tuesday was the last day for withdrawing nominations.
As no other candidate was contesting against the three leaders, they were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, Assembly Secretary Mahaveer Prasad Sharma 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 BJP leader Kirodi Lal Meena resigned from the House in December after being elected as an MLA.
The BJP has 115 members and the Congress 70 in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly.
There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan. After Tuesday’s results, the Congress holds six of these seats and the BJP four.
Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) president Govind Singh Dotasra collected the certificate of Gandhi’s election to the Rajya Sabha while Garasiya and Rathore collected their certificates themselves.
Many Congress leaders, including former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, congratulated Gandhi on her election.
“Sonia Gandhi’s election to the Rajya Sabha will strengthen the voice of Rajasthan and the opposition will get a new energy,” Gehlot said in a post on X.
Dotasra and Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot also congratulated her.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan BJP president C P Joshi congratulated Garasiya and Rathore.
“I congratulate BJP candidates Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore on being elected unopposed as Rajya Sabha MPs… From Rajasthan and wish a bright future for both of them,” he said. (PTI)
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