BHOPAL: Union minister of state for information and broadcasting, L Murugan, on Tuesday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha byelection from Madhya Pradesh. He is expected to be elected unopposed as Congress has said it won’t field any candidate.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Prahlad Patel, BJP state chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma and other party leaders accompanied Murugan to the assembly where he submitted the papers to returning officer and principal secretary of assembly, Awadhesh Pratap Singh.
The RS seat fell vacant after Thawar Chand Gehlot was appointed Governor of Karnataka in July. Murugan was made a Union minister in the cabinet reshuffle that month and this necessitated his election to Parliament in six months.
Earlier this month, the Election Commission announced that bypolls to seven Rajya Sabha seats, including one in MP, would be held on October 4. The last date for nomination is September 22.
BJP named Murugan, a former Tamil Nadu party chief, as its candidate on September 18. MP BJP president V D Sharma welcomed his nomination, saying the BJP leadership has decided that Madhya Pradesh “would give strength to Tamil Nadu”.
“I am very grateful to the central leadership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and party national president J P Nadda for this decision. Madhya Pradesh is fortunate to have Murugan ji as party candidate for Rajya Sabha. A Scheduled Caste leader, he has worked in Tamil Nadu to nurture nationalist ideals and has played an important role in the expansion of the BJP organization,” said Sharma.
Murugan thanked the BJP leadership for giving him an opportunity to enter Rajya Sabha and said there is no difference between the culture of South and North India.
Sharma hit out at Congress, saying: “Congress is terrified that if it fields any candidate, then the remaining MLAs might go here and there. Kamal Nath ji has captured the entire organisation. He feels that if someone else fights the bypoll, he will be highlighted,” said Sharma.
