Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge was elected ‘unanimously’ to the Rajya Sabha as the senior leader sought re-election to Parliament’s Upper House. Debutant Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan also made it to the Rajya Sabha as Congress MP after elections were announced to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka because the terms of current members – Iranna Kadadi and Narayana Koragappa (both from the BJP), Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, and former PM HD Deve Gowda from JD(S)-end on June 25.
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Initially, five candidates had filed nominations to the state’s four Rajya Sabha seats, which was scheduled for June 18. Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly were scheduled to vote in this election at Vidhana Soudha.
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However, officials said that during scrutiny, the nomination filed by an independent candidate was rejected.
The last date for withdrawing candidature was Thursday. Since only four candidates remained in the fray, they were declared elected “unanimously”, officials added.
Chief minister DK Shivakumar congratulated Kharge, Khera, and Khan on being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.
“I am confident that they will champion Karnataka’s interests in Parliament, effectively voicing the aspirations of our people and working towards the state’s continued progress and development,” he posted on ‘X’.
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Khera said it is a matter of great pride that the Congress leadership gave him an opportunity to serve the people of Karnataka through the Rajya Sabha, and he hopes to do justice to all aspirations.
“I also hope the next time, when I address all of you, I will pick up the beautiful Kannada language. Next time I will try to speak in Kannada,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Khan also thanked the party leadership both at the Centre and the state for giving him an opportunity to represent the issues of Karnataka and the country in Rajya Sabha.
“I will work for Karnataka and the country, and raise issues that are in the country’s interest in the Rajya Sabha,” Khan, the son of a former Union minister and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Rahman Khan was quoted as saying.
BJP sweeps all 3 Rajya Sabha seats in MP
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday won unopposed the three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh after the rejection of the nomination papers of the Congress party’s sole nominee two days ago.
Returning officer Arvind Sharma handed over election certificates to BJP candidates Rajneesh Agrawal, Tarun Chugh, and Mahesh Kevat after the deadline for withdrawals ended with no other candidates in the fray.
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The walkover materialised after Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected on Tuesday after BJP leaders, including Kevat filed an objection, alleging Natarajan had concealed details of a pending case in a Hyderabad court in her election affidavit.
The returning officer upheld the objection, ruling she had filed an incomplete form and failed to disclose a court summons issued in connection with a rape case filed against a Congress leader in Telangana in 2022.
