Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Madan Rathore and Chunnilal Garasiya were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Tuesday, which was the last day for withdrawal of nominations for biennial elections to the Upper House. No other candidates were contesting for the three seats.
The ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress were comfortably placed to win two and one seats, respectively, based on their strength in the State Assembly. Election Officer and Assembly Secretary Mahaveer Prasad Sharma declared the three leaders elected at the end of the scheduled day for withdrawing the papers.
There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan, out of which six were with Congress and four with the BJP. Two seats are falling vacant on the retirement of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Minister and BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav on April 3, while the third fell vacant after the resignation of BJP’s Kirodi Lal Meena following his victory as an MLA in the 2023 Assembly election.
Ms. Gandhi filed her nomination papers on February 14 and the two BJP leaders on February 15. Mr. Sharma gave away the certificates of election to the new Rajya Sabha members. Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra received the certificate on behalf of Ms. Gandhi.
The BJP has 115 members and the Congress 70 in the 200-member State Assembly. This will be Ms. Gandhi’s first term in Rajya Sabha after serving five terms as a Lok Sabha Member, first from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi and later from Rae Bareli constituency.
Mr. Rathore was a two-time BJP MLA from Sumerpur and he also served as the party’s Deputy Chief Whip in the Assembly. Mr. Garasiya, the tribal face of BJP from southern Rajasthan, was elected an MLA twice from Udaipur Rural and he served as a Minister of State for Tribal Area Development.
Veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot congratulated Ms. Gandhi on her election and said her entry into the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan would strengthen the State’s voice and give “new energy” to the Opposition.
