BJP's Naresh Bansal declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand

LUCKNOW

Senior BJP leader Naresh Bansal was declared, elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand on Monday with no other party in the contest.

Bansal was handed over the certificate of his election from the seat by Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha Secretary Mukesh Singhal as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations came to an end at 3 pm.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, his cabinet colleagues Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey, Pradesh BJP president Basidhar Bhagat and a host of party MLAs were present as Bansal was declared elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament.

Polling for the seat was scheduled to be held on November 9 but it became unnecessary as no other party fielded its candidate from the seat.

Bansal's unopposed election to the Upper House from Uttarakhand was a mere formality with the BJP having 57 out of a total of 70 seats in the state assembly and no challenger to him in the fray.

Soon after his election, Bansal said that contributing to the realisation of a prosperous Uttarakhand as envisioned by people who fought for statehood will be his topmost priority as an MP.

Bansal replaces Congress' Raj Babbar whose tenure in the Rajya Sabha ends on November 25.