JAIPUR: All three BJP candidates for the Rajya Sabha biennial election, Dr Kirori Meena, Bhupender Yadav and Madan Lal Saini appear set to be elected unopposed as no other contestant has filed their nomination, an official said.
The last date for withdrawing nomination is March 15 when the BJP candidates will be declared elected unopposed, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly secretary Prithvi Raj said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said today she was confident that tribal leader and MLA Kirori Lal Meena's coming back to the BJP will be a step towards making the state Congress-free.
The chief minister said this outside the Rajasthan Assembly after Meena filed his nomination for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections.
Meena, who separated from the BJP in 2008, rejoined the party yesterday along with his two National Peoples Party (NPP) MLAs.
"Meena will walk shoulder-to-shoulder in making the state Congress-free", Raje said, adding that the BJP will form governments in the Centre and in Rajasthan.
The chief minister was accompanied by state BJP president Ashok Parnami when Meena filed his candidature.
"We will work for the Mission-180 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly elections slated this year-end," Meena said adding he would try to convince other BJP dissidents to join the party.
Like Meena, sitting Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav and veteran party leader Madan Lal Saini also filed three sets of nominations each as the BJP candidates from Rajasthan.
Returning officer Akhil Arora administered oath to the candidates after filing the nomination.
Opposition Congress had announced it would not field candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha election.
The tenure of Yadav and two Congress MPs Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Narendra Budania is expiring on April 3.