Union Petroleum Minister and BJP candidate Hardeep Singh Puri was on Thursday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in a bypoll, reported PTI, citing officials.
Puri was declared elected by Returning Officer Umesh Sharma on the last day for withdrawal of nominations. He was the only candidate left in the fray after the nomination papers of two other candidates were rejected during scrutiny.
Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal collected Puri's certificate of election from the returning officer in the presence of party MLA Rameshwar Sharma.
On the last day for the scrutiny of papers, the nominations of the other two candidates, Kante Sayanna and Rajkumar Lohani, who was backed by the Opposition Congress, were rejected. The bypoll, if necessary, was to take place on November 12.
The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after the resignation of former Union minister L Murugan from the Upper House last month, necessitating the bypoll. Murugan's term was due to end on April 2, 2030.
The BJP then fielded Puri, a career diplomat-turned-politician, as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-election.
(With inputs from PTI)