All 10 candidates for the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, including eight from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and two from the Samajwadi Party (SP), were declared elected unopposed yesterday.
Returning Officer Ajit Verma, Special Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, confirmed the unopposed election of all 10 candidates.
The BJP candidates are Dharampal Singh, Prakash Pal, Shruti Gangwar, Vidya Sagar Sonkar, Priyanka Rawat, Radhakant Ojha, Gopi Krishna Pandey and Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan.
The SP candidates are Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated the BJP candidates, expressing confidence that they will contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat and the country’s development.
The unopposed election was made possible after the Samajwadi Party decided not to field a third candidate for the 10th seat, paving the way for all 10 candidates to be elected without a contest.
The biennial elections were necessitated due to the expiry of the terms of 10 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh on 25th of November.
Among the Rajya Sabha members retiring from the state are Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and BL Verma, BJP leaders Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal and Seema Dwivedi, Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and BSP’s Ramji Gautam.
The seat vacated by former Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma had also remained vacant following his resignation after being appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.