Hardeep Singh Puri elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh

Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was on Thursday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh after the nominations of two other candidates, including one backed by the Congress, were rejected during scrutiny.

Puri, 74, was the only candidate remaining in the contest when the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on November 5. Returning Officer Umesh Sharma subsequently declared him elected to the Upper House of Parliament.

The nominations of Kante Sayanna and Congress-backed Rajkumar Lohani were rejected during scrutiny. The bypoll had been scheduled for November 12 if voting was required.

Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal collected Puri's election certificate from the returning officer in the presence of party leaders.

"Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, the official candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has been elected unopposed in the by-election for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat," Khandelwal told reporters.

"The process of Puri's unopposed election was completed and today we all are present here to receive his election certificate," he added.

He later met Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, along with state BJP organisation general secretary Chandrashekhar, to inform him about the development.

The Rajya Sabha seat became vacant after former Union minister L Murugan resigned from the Upper House in October.

Murugan's term was originally scheduled to end on April 2, 2030.

The BJP subsequently nominated Puri, a former diplomat, to contest the vacant seat from Madhya Pradesh.