Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar and Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Mr. Javadekar was elected from Madhya Pradesh and Mr. Yadav from Bihar.
Mr. Javadekar’s election declared by the Madhya Pradesh Assembly’s Principal Secretary and Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha bypoll, Bhagwandev Israni.
Only a single nomination form of Mr. Javadekar was received by the Returning Office for the bypoll and he was elected unopposed. The bypoll was necessitated as the sitting BJP member and former Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mandla (ST) seat following which he resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership.
In Patna, the ruling JD(U)’s president was elected unopposed, an official said.
“Yadav has been declared elected after the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers ended at 3 p.m. on Thursday in the absence of any other candidate. There will be no formal election,” the official said.
Mr. Yadav lost the Lok Sabha election from Madhepura constituency in Bihar.
To ensure his presence in parliament, the JD(U) decided to send him to the Rajya Sabha, a party leader said.
Mr. Yadav was one of the three JD(U) candidates who filed their papers for the bye-election to three Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar. The other two candidates were author and former diplomat Pawan Verma and Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi.
Three Independent candidates — Anil Sharma, Sabir Ali and Dilip Jaiswal — also filed their nomination papers. But Mr. Jaiswal Thursday withdrew his papers.
“With four candidates in fray, there will be a formal election for two Rajya Sabha seats June 19,” the official said.
Mr. Sharma and Mr. Ali are banking on support of rebel JD(U) legislators and the likely support of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
