Rajya Sabha by-polls: Union Ministers Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurian were on Tuesday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in a by-poll from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh respectively. Notably, Rajya Sabha members are elected by MLAs of a legislative assembly who vote in proportional representation with the single transferable vote (STV) system.
The lone vacancy from Madhya Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha occurred after Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia won the Lok Sabha election from the Guna constituency in June while the Rajasthan seat fell vacant after KC Venugopal of the Congress resigned following his election to Lok Sabha.
Ravneet Singh Bittu elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan
Three candidates had initially filed nominations for the Rajya Sabha bypolls, one of whom was a BJP dummy candidate. The last date for withdrawal of nominations was August 27. The nomination paper of independent candidate Babita Wadhwani was canceled during scrutiny on August 22.
BJP's dummy candidate, Sunil Kothari, withdrew his nomination on Friday, leaving Ravneet Singh Bittu as the sole candidate in the by-election. Subsequently, Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Principal Secretary and Election Officer Mahavir Prasad Sharma presented a certificate to Yogendra Singh Tanwar, the authorized election agent of Bittu.
The opposition Congress chose not to field a candidate in the by-election. Rajasthan has a total of 10 Rajya Sabha seats, and after Bittu's election, the BJP and Congress each hold five seats.
George Kurian elected to Rajaya Sabha
Besides Kurian, two others, including state BJP vice-president Kantdev Singh, had filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. Singh, who is from Singrauli, submitted his nomination as a dummy candidate for the BJP.
However, during scrutiny, the nomination papers of one of the other nominees were rejected, and Singh withdrew his candidature on the last day for opting out (August 27). This led to Kurian being elected unopposed as a Rajya Sabha member for the remaining term until 2026, vacated by Scindia, according to an official. The by-election for the seat, if needed, was scheduled for September 3, with members of the state assembly forming the electoral college.
In the 230-member House, BJP has 163 MLAs, Congress 64, and Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) 1. Two assembly seats are lying vacant.
Who is Ravneet Singh Bittu?
Bittu is a 'Baazigar' (Denoting to a person who is rewarded despite of a loss) of politics. He got a ministerial post despite an electoral defeat. Even though he lost from the Ludhiana parliamentary seat, Bittu became a Minister of State in the third Narendra Modi-led cabinet. Bittu, 48, lost to Congress candidate and state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 20,942 votes. He is the grandson of late Beant Singh, who was assassinated in August 1995 when he was the Punjab chief minister.
Bittu is a three-time MP — twice from Ludhiana and once from Anandpur Sahib, both times on a Congress ticket. He defected to the BJP this March, leaving several Congress leaders surprised. At the time of joining, Bittu had praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that they have a lot of affection for Punjab and want to do a lot for the state.
Who is George Kurian?
Kurian, who is the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Minority Affairs, is a leader from Kerala. He loyal party worker who has been active in the saffron party movement post-Emergency in the late 1970s. He has been with the BJP since it was founded in 1980. Hailing from Kottayam district of Kerala, Kurian, a committed BJP worker who held the party flag high during its ups and downs, has never been identified with any of the factions of the saffron party in the state.
Enjoying a good relationship with several national leaders of the BJP, Kurian worked in almost all the key posts of the state party, such as vice president and general secretary, for several years. A lawyer by profession, Kurian held various posts, including national vice president of the Yuva Morcha, Minority Morcha, and National Council member of the BJP. He was Officer on Special Duty to O Rajagopal when the veteran leader was the union railway minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
(With PTI inputs)
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