Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 5 (ANI): Karnataka Minister Eshwar Khandre on Friday expressed confidence that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge would be elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.
Speaking to ANI, Khandre said, “Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji has filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha. He will be elected unanimously.”
Further, Karnataka Minister MC Sudhakar also welcomed Kharge’s nomination, describing him as the “most deserving person” and praising his years of dedicated service to the party.
He said Congress leaders were proud of Kharge’s candidature and added that he had signed as a proposer on the nomination form.
“We are all happy. He is our Congress Committee President, and he has been working tirelessly for years. He is the most deserving person, and we are all proud. I also signed as a proposer on his nomination form,” Sudhakar said.
Earlier in the day, Kharge filed his nomination for the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections. He is a Congress candidate to the Upper House from Karnataka.
He was accompanied by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Lok Sabha MP KC Venugopal and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President BK Hariprasad.
Along with Kharge, Congress candidate Pawan Khera, and Mansoor Ali Khan also submitted their nomination papers to Karnataka Vidhana Soudha Assembly Secretary Vishalakshi.
Addressing reporters after filing his nomination, Kharge said, “All the MLAs and my leaders have unanimously chosen me. The election is scheduled for June 18, and I am confident that everyone will remain united and ensure the victory of the Congress candidates.”
The Election Commission had on June 1 issued a notification for biennial elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats from ten states.
Notification was also issued for the Rajya Sabha bypoll for a seat each in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. Congress on Thursday declared seven candidates for the biennial elections and bypolls to the Rajya Sabha from five states.
Along with Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan, the party has fielded Meenakshi Natarajan from Madhya Pradesh, Praveen Chakravarty from Tamil Nadu and Pranav Jha from Jharkhand.
The party has renominated Neeraj Dangi from Rajasthan.
The 24 seats include four seats each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three seats each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two seats in Jharkhand, and one seat each in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya. The filing of nominations has begun, and the last date is June 8.
Notification was also issued for the Rajya Sabha bypoll for a seat each in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. (ANI)
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