Rajya Sabha by-elections: Union Ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were on Tuesday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in a by-election in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively. It is noteworthy that members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by lawmakers in a legislative assembly who vote on a proportional representation basis under the single transferable vote (STV) system.
Madhya Pradesh’s lone vacancy in Rajya Sabha came after Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia won the Lok Sabha elections from the Guna constituency in June, while the Rajasthan seat fell vacant after Congress’s KC Venugopal resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha.
Ravneet Singh Bittu elected Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan
Three candidates had initially filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha by-elections, one of whom was a dummy candidate of the BJP. The last date for withdrawal of nominations was August 27. The nomination of independent candidate Babita Wadhwani was cancelled during the counting of votes on August 22.
BJP dummy candidate Sunil Kothari withdrew his nomination on Friday, leaving Ravneet Singh Bittu as the sole candidate in the by-election. Later, Chief Secretary and Electoral Officer of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Mahavir Prasad Sharma handed over a certificate to Yogendra Singh Tanwar, the authorised election agent of Bittu.
The opposition Congress party has decided not to field any candidate in the by-elections. Rajasthan has a total of 10 seats in the Rajya Sabha and after Bittu’s election, the BJP and Congress have five seats each.
George Kurian elected to Rajaya Sabha
Apart from Kurian, two others, including BJP state vice-president Kantdev Singh, have filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. Singh, who is from Singrauli, filed his nomination as a dummy candidate for the BJP.
However, during the counting, the nomination papers of one of the other nominees were rejected, and Singh withdrew his candidature on the last day to opt out (August 27). This led to Kurian being elected unopposed as a Rajya Sabha member for the remaining term till 2026, vacated by Scindia, according to an official. A by-election for the seat, if required, was scheduled for September 3, with members of the state assembly forming the electoral college.
In the 230-member House of Representatives, the BJP has 163 legislators, the Congress 64 and the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) 1. Two assembly seats are vacant.
Who is Ravneet Singh Bittu?
Bittu is a ‘Baazigar’ (meaning a person who is rewarded despite a defeat) of politics. He got a ministerial berth despite an electoral defeat. Even though he lost the Ludhiana parliamentary seat, Bittu became a Minister of State in the third cabinet led by Narendra Modi. Bittu, 48, lost to Congress candidate and state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 20,942 votes. He is the grandson of the late Beant Singh, who was assassinated in August 1995 when he was the Punjab chief minister.
Bittu has been an MP three times – twice from Ludhiana and once from Anandpur Sahib, both times for the Congress. In March this year, he switched to the BJP, surprising several Congress leaders. At the time of joining, Bittu had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying they had a lot of affection for Punjab and wanted to do a lot for the state.
Who is George Kurian?
Kurian, the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Minority Affairs, is a leader from Kerala. He is a loyal member of the party who has been actively involved in the saffron party movement after the state of Emergency in the late 1970s. He has been with the BJP since its founding in 1980. Hailing from the Kottayam district of Kerala, Kurian, a committed BJP member who held high the party’s flag during its ups and downs, has never been identified with any of the saffron party factions in the state.
Kurian, who enjoys a good rapport with several BJP national leaders, has worked for several years in almost all the key positions of the state party, including vice-president and general secretary. A lawyer by profession, Kurian held several posts, including national vice-president of Yuva Morcha, Minority Morcha and member of the BJP National Council. He was on special duty officer to O Rajagopal when the veteran leader was union railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: NDA candidates Upendra Kushwaha and Manan Kumar Mishra elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha
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