Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was “unanimously” elected to the Rajya Sabha as the senior leader sought re-election to the upper house of Parliament. Newcomer Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan also arrived in the Rajya Sabha as Congress MP after elections were announced to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka due to which the term of office of the existing members – Errana Kadadi and Narayana Kuragappa (both from BJP), Mallikarjun Kharge from Congress, and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda from JD(S) – expires on June 25.
Initially, five candidates filed their nominations for the four Rajya Sabha seats in the state, which were scheduled to be held on June 18. Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly were scheduled to vote in these elections in Vidhana Soudha.
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However, officials said that during scrutiny, the nomination submitted by an independent candidate was rejected.
The last date to withdraw the nomination was Thursday. The officials added that since only four candidates remained in the electoral fray, their election was declared “unanimous.”
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar congratulated Karg, Khaira and Khan on their election to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.
“I am confident that they will champion the interests of Karnataka in Parliament, effectively express the aspirations of our people and work for the sustained progress and development of the state,” he said on X.
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Khera said it is a matter of great pride that the Congress leadership has given him the opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka through the Rajya Sabha and hopes that justice will be done to all aspirations.
“I also hope that next time, when I address you all, I will learn the beautiful Kannada language. Next time I will try to speak in Kannada,” news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Khan also thanked the party leadership at the Center and the state for giving him the opportunity to represent the issues of Karnataka and the country in the Rajya Sabha.
“I will work for Karnataka and the country and will raise issues that are in the interest of the country in the Rajya Sabha,” Khan, son of former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Rehman Khan, was quoted as saying.
BJP sweeps all three Rajya Sabha seats in Parliament
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday won the three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh unopposed after the nomination papers of the Congress party’s lone candidate were rejected two days ago.
Returning Officer Arvind Sharma handed over election certificates to BJP candidates Rajneesh Agrawal, Tarun Chugu and Mahesh Kivat after the deadline for withdrawal expired with no other candidates in the fray.
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The walkout materialized after Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan was rejected on Tuesday after BJP leaders, including Kivat, filed an objection, alleging that Natarajan had concealed details of a case pending in a Hyderabad court in her election affidavit.
The returning officer upheld the objection, ruling that she had submitted an incomplete form and failed to disclose the court summons issued in connection with a rape case against a Congress leader in Telangana in 2022.
