Union Minister of State for Railways, Ravneet Singh Bittu, submitted his nomination papers as the BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypolls in Rajasthan.
Accompanied by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Deputy Chief Ministers Diya Kumari and Premchand Bairwa, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel, Singh completed the nomination process. Afterward, Returning Officer Mahavir Prasad Sharma administered the oath to him.
Sunil Kothari also filed his nomination papers as an alternative BJP candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypolls.
A total of three candidates have entered the fray for the Rajya Sabha bypolls from Rajasthan. On August 17, independent candidate Babita Baghwani also filed her nomination papers for the by-election.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers is scheduled for August 22.
Bittu, who joined the BJP in March and contested the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully, was later appointed as a Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries and Railways. According to parliamentary rules, a minister who is not a member of either House of Parliament for six consecutive months must vacate the position.
Currently, the Rajya Sabha's effective strength stands at 229. The BJP holds 87 seats, with NDA allies boosting this number to 105. The support from six nominated MPs raises the NDA’s strength to 111, still four short of the majority mark. The Opposition holds 84 seats, with Congress having 26 and its allies 58.
Some of the 12 seats became vacant as former members, including Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were elected to the Lok Sabha.
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