Hardeep Singh Puri, Nine Others Elected Unopposed to RS From UP

High drama was witnessed for the 10th seat between the BSP candidate and an independent candidate, backed by the SP.

File image of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, other candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Ten candidates were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from the state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, 2 November – the last date for withdrawal of names.

Of the ten seats, BJP won eight and the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party got one each.

The BJP candidates who have been elected include Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Arun Singh, Haridwar Dubey, Brij Lal, Neeraj Shekhar, Geeta Shakya, Seema Dwivedi and BL Varma.

Newly elected BJP Rajya Sabha members at the Vidhan Bhavan in Lucknow

Professor Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party was declared elected unopposed while BSP's Ramji Gautam was also elected to the Upper House.

High drama was witnessed for the tenth seat between BSP’s Ramji Gautam and an independent candidate Prakash Bajaj, backed by the SP.

The matter was resolved when the nomination of Bajaj was cancelled and the BSP candidate won despite having only ten votes of his party.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati said she would vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if it means defeating Samajwadi Party (SP) candidates.

She, however, added that she would ‘rather retire from politics’ than enter into an alliance with the BJP.

“The alliance of the BJP with the BSP is not possible in any polls in the future. The BSP cannot contest with a communal party,” she said in a media briefing, PTI reported.

Last week, the SP had attacked Mayawati for allegedly siding with the BJP and fielding a candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls without seeking support from Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh.

This was after Mayawati had suspended seven BSP MLAs for anti-party activities after they opposed the nomination of a party candidate for the Rajya Sabha.

(With inputs from PTI, IANS)