BHOPAL: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's nomination as the ruling BJP candidate for the November 12 Rajya Sabha by-election from Madhya Pradesh was cleared by the Returning Officer (RO) on Tuesday, with all objections raised by the Congress rejected during scrutiny.
With the RO also rejecting the nominations of the two independent candidates — Congress-backed social activist Rajkumar Lohani and Telangana native Kante Sayanna — for submitting incomplete nomination papers, Puri is now the only candidate left in the fray. This means he is set to be elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations expires at 3 pm on November 5.
The state Congress had raised multiple objections to Puri's nomination, questioning the completeness and validity of the documents submitted along with his nomination form. However, after examining the objections, the Returning Officer cleared the Union Minister's nomination.
Following the clearance of Puri's nomination, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha Hemant Katare and first-time Bhopal North Congress MLA Atif Aqeel announced that they would soon approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court to challenge the Returning Officer's decision to accept his nomination papers.
The Congress had raised a series of objections to Puri's nomination. Party representatives questioned the details furnished in his Form 26 and alleged that the affidavit was incomplete.
Earlier, Congress MLA and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Hemant Katare had claimed that Puri's nomination papers contained more than 100 deficiencies. Among the issues flagged by the party were the alleged omission of his wife's name, non-disclosure of overseas assets in Indian currency, and questions over the notarisation and certification of Form 26.
The Returning Officer, however, found no grounds to reject Puri's nomination.
Meanwhile, the nomination of Congress-backed independent candidate Rajkumar Lohani was rejected primarily because he had failed to submit Form 26, the affidavit containing details of a candidate's criminal cases, assets, liabilities and other mandatory disclosures.
Lohani reportedly told the Returning Officer that he had emailed the required document. However, the officer declined to accept the electronic submission, maintaining that the prescribed document had to be submitted physically. Lohani also sought additional time to furnish the affidavit, but his request was turned down. His candidature was subsequently rejected.
The nomination of the other independent candidate, Telangana native Kante Sayanna, was rejected by the RO on the grounds of an incomplete form.
With both independent candidates out of the contest, Puri is now the sole remaining candidate for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations is 3 pm on November 5. If no further development alters the electoral process, Puri is expected to be declared elected unopposed on the afternoon of November 5.
The Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh fell vacant following the resignation of sitting member and Union Minister L Murugan on October 13.
