Union Minister and BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan without any opposition. The Congress Party chose not to put forward a candidate, making Bittu's victory almost assured given the BJP's strong MLA presence in the state.
As the deadline for nomination withdrawals passed, Bittu was confirmed elected with no other contenders in the race. Election officer Mahavir Prasad Sharma officially announced Bittu's victory to Yogendra Singh Tanwar, who was designated by Bittu for this purpose. Bittu, a former two-term Congress MP from Ludhiana and the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, joined the BJP shortly before the March Lok Sabha elections.
Ravneet Bittu, the grandson of late Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and son of former Punjab minister Tej Parkash Singh, was an unexpected pick in the Modi 3.0 government since his defeat from Ludhiana in Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket. Being a Union Minister after his defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, he had to get elected as an MP within six months.
Only three candidates were in the fray after Congress decided not to contest the Rajya Sabha seat. Second nominee of BJP Sunil Kothari withdrew his nomination on Friday while the nomination of Independent candidate Babita Wadhwani was canceled post scrutiny. The number required to win the Rajya Sabha seat was 98 MLA votes.
With the Congress having just 66 MLAs in the Rajasthan Assembly, with the BJP having managed to win five out of ten Rajya Sabha seats in the state, Bittu's unanimous election thus further bolstered BJP. The other BJP Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan are: Rajendra Gehlot, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore. The Congress members are Sonia Gandhi, Neeraj Dangi, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Kumar.
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