Rajasthan: Rajya Sabha candidates clear scrutiny

Nomination papers filed by four candidates for the election to three seats of the Rajya Sabha in Rajasthan were found valid in the scrutiny held on Monday. Thirteen sets of nomination papers were filed by the four candidates. Congress nominees K C Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi filed four sets each while BJP's Rajendra Gehlot filed three and Onkar Singh Lakhawat two sets of papers on March 13.

Returning Officer Pramil Kumar Mathur said all papers were found valid in the scrutiny. The last date for the withdrawal of nominations is March 18. If necessitated, polling will be held on March 26. The three seats are presently held by Ram Narain Dudi, Vijay Goel and Narayan Lal Panchariya, all from the BJP. The seats will fall vacant next month after the completion of their tenure. Rajasthan has 10 Rajya Sabha seats, of which nine are currently held by the BJP.

Congress Party's only Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan is former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who was elected unopposed in the Rajya Sabha bypolls held last year after the seat fell vacant following the demise of BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Madan Lal Saini. The Congress, which had come to power in December 2018, has 107 MLAs in the Rajasthan assembly. The BJP has 72 MLAs in the 200-member House.