RAIPUR: The nomination of former MLA and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) candidate Haridas Bharadwaj for upcoming Rajya Sabha elections was rejected on Wednesday, paving the way for the unopposed election of Congress' Rajeev Shukla and Ranjeet Ranjan as no other candidate is in the fray.
"The nomination of Dr Bharadwaj was cancelled after scrutiny," Secretary of the state assembly Dinesh Sharma said.
JCC (J) president Amit Jogi said Bharadwaj's nomination has been rejected unconstitutionally and illegally, and the party will approach the High Court to halt the RS elections process in Chhattisgarh.
Sharma said Bharadwaj's nomination paper does not meet the criteria of proposers mentioned in the nomination form.
"Only three members of the Assembly had signed as proposers in his nomination form while as per rules, candidates should be proposed by at least 10 members of the House or 10 per cent of the total strength," he said.
The last date for withdrawal of nominations for the June 10 RS elections is June 3.
For the two seats, Shukla and Ranjan will be elected unopposed as no other candidate is in the fray.
The results will be formally announced on the last date of the withdrawal of candidature (June 3), as no polling will be required, the officials said.
The main opposition BJP did not field a candidate in view of its low strength in the state Assembly.
The ruling Congress has nominated Shukla, a journalist-turned-politician who hails from Uttar Pradesh, and former Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, Ranjeet Ranjan, for two RS seats which will fall vacant the next month.
"The nomination of Bhardwaj ji has been rejected unconstitutionally and illegally. We will approach the High Court seeking to halt the election process for Rajya Sabha in the state," Jogi said.
As per the Representation of the People Act, the independent candidate for RS should be proposed by 10 per cent of the total members of the Assembly.
If candidates are fielded by recognised national or regional political parties, then the candidature should be proposed by at least 10% of the candidate's party's strength in the House, he said.
"JCC (J) is an election commission recognised party and its three members had signed as proposers for Bhardwaj. Therefore, the rejection of his nomination based on the number of proposers is unconstitutional and illegal," Jogi claimed.
In the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly, the Congress has 71 MLAs, BJP 14, JCC (J) three and Bahujan Samaj Party two.
Of the five Rajya Sabha members from Chhattisgarh, the term of Chhaya Verma (Congress) and Ramvichar Netam (BJP) will expire in the next month, necessitating the election.