New Delhi, August 04: Four Congress candidates, including Union Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, three of the BJP, two NCP’s and one National Conference nominee were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha after the expiry of deadline for withdrawal of nominations for the bypolls this evening.
As no other candidate was in the fray, all the ten were declared elected uncontested with the Congress wresting the seat from the BJP in Rajasthan and retaining it in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi.
The BJP retained two seats in Madhya Pradesh and one in Chattisgarh, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party two in Maharashtra and the ruling National Conference one in Jammu and Kashmir, returning officers in respective states said.
The four Congress candidates elected to the Upper House are Union Minister and former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh from Maharashtra, Shadi Lal Batra, an MLA,from Haryana, Parvez Hashmi from Delhi and Narendra Bhudhaniya from Rajasthan.
BJP leaders Kaptan Singh Solanki and Anil Madhav Dave made it to the Upper House from Madhya Pradesh while another senior party leader Nand Kumar Sai found a berth from Chhattisgarh.
Two NCP nominees elected to the Rajya Sabha are Govindrao Adik and Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil while NC’s Ghulam Nabi Wani, a journalist, also entered the Upper House.
Deshmukh, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, was twice Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a five-time MLA.
He was elected unopposed after the the Shiv Sena nominee opted out of contest on the last day of withdrawals.
Sena leader Arvind Nerkar said the party had “boycotted” the election to protest EC’s decision to issue three separate notifications for the bypolls.
Deshmukh contested the seat vacated by Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Solapur constituency.
Govindrao Adik and Ranjitsinh Mohite Patil contested the seats vacated by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar.
The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant in Rajasthan after BJP leader Jaswant Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha.
In Haryana, the bypoll arose following the resignation of former Union Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj after he was made Karnataka Governor.
–Agencies