RAIPUR: Congress candidates Rajeev Shukla and Ranjeeta Ranjan have been elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha secretary Dinesh Sharma, who is the returning officer for the biennial elections, announced their election to the upper house on the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers. During scrutiny, nomination papers of regional party Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) Dr Haridas Bharadwaj were rejected on the ground that his documents did not fulfil the mandatory criteria of nine proposers. Dr Bharadwaj is a former minister.
Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha secretary Dinesh Sharma, who is the returning officer for the biennial elections, announced their election to the upper house on the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers. During scrutiny, nomination papers of regional party Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J) Dr Haridas Bharadwaj were rejected on the ground that his documents did not fulfil the mandatory criteria of nine proposers. Three JCC(J) legislators -- Dr Renu Jogi, Dharamjit Singh and Pramod Sharma -- had proposed Dr Bharadwaj's nomination. He is a former minister.
Shukla, a journalist-turned-political commentator, and Ranjan, a former Lok Sabha MP, had filed their nomination papers on Tuesday. Their candidature had sparked a controversy as it left Chhattisgarh Congress aspirants out of the running and the opposition called it an insult to the state. Baghel, however, pointed out that all parties nominate people from other states. "Rajya Sabha is the upper house where national issues and many other problems are discussed. Both these candidates have parliamentary experience," he said.
