New Delhi, March 20
Union Ministers Arjun Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Praful Patel, Hansraj Bhardwaj, and Dasari Narayan Rao are among the political heavyweights who were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha today.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended today for the biennial elections to fill 59 seats from 15 states.
The Opposition ranks were bolstered by the election of former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi (Shiv Sena) and former Delhi Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj (BJP).
Shinde, Patel (NCP), Joshi, journalist-turned-politician Rajiv Shukla (Cong), Vasant Chavan (NCP) and Prof Bal Apte (BJP) were elected from Maharashtra.
Arjun Singh and former Union Ministers Sushma Swaraj and Vikram Verma (both BJP) were among five candidates elected unopposed from Madhya Pradesh. The other two were BJP nominees Narayan Singh Kesri and Ms Anasuiya Uike.
Of the five seats falling vacant, Congress held three and BJP two.
Union Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj, who earlier represented Madhya Pradesh, was declared elected unopposed from Haryana to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of sitting member Faquir Chand.
Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Dasari Narayan Rao and Dr K. Kesava Rao, Rashid Alvi and G. Sanjeeva Reddy (all Congress), Asif Bhasha (CPI) and Dr M. V. Mysoora Reddy (TDP) were elected unopposed from Andhra Pradesh.
BJP leaders Ramdas Agarwal and Krishan Lal Valmiki and Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress were declared elected unopposed from Rajasthan.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Shree Gopal Vyas was elected unopposed from Chhattisgarh.
Elections will be held at the end of this month in Bihar (for six seats), Gujarat (four seats), Himachal Pradesh (one seat), Jharkhand (two seats), Karnataka(four seats), Uttar Pradesh (ten seats), Uttaranchal(one seat), West Bengal (five seats) and Orissa (three
seats).
