Bengaluru: Four candidates, including three from the Congress and one from the BJP, were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka after the withdrawal deadline ended without any contest.
The elected members are Congress nominees Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, and Mansoor Ali Khan, along with BJP candidate M Nagaraj. Returning Officer KM Vishalakshi officially declared the candidates elected and handed over certificates to Pawan Khera, Mansoor Ali Khan and M Nagaraj.
A total of five candidates had initially filed nominations for the Rajya Sabha election. Independent candidate Bojanna Somanna had also entered the fray. However, his nomination was rejected during scrutiny as it lacked the required proposers’ signatures. With only four valid nominations remaining for four vacant seats, all candidates were elected unopposed.
Speaking after his election, Nagaraj thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP leadership for reposing faith in him.
Congress leader Pawan Khera expressed gratitude to the party high command and the people of Karnataka for electing him to the Rajya Sabha. He praised Kannada as a beautiful language and said he would make efforts to learn and speak Kannada in the coming days.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar congratulated the newly elected members through a social media post. Extending his wishes to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan, he said he was confident that they would serve as strong voices for Karnataka’s interests, development and progress at the national level.
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