Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is all set to enter the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Madhya Pradesh after the Returning Officer on Tuesday rejected all three objections raised against his nomination and struck down the papers of his two rivals. The dramatic turn came during scrutiny of nominations for the November 12 by-election, necessitated by the resignation of Union Minister of State L Murugan. Congress MLA and Deputy Leader of Opposition Hemant Katare, who was among the proposers of Congress-backed Independent candidate Rajkumar Lohani, had challenged Puri’s affidavit (Form 26) on three grounds: non-disclosure of his wife’s name, declaration of overseas assets in dollars and Swiss francs without a clear exchange rate for a Geneva apartment and foreign bank accounts, and alleged violation of the Notaries Act in verification of the affidavit.

 

After hearing both sides in a special meeting attended by PWD Minister Rakesh Singh, BJP State General Secretary Rahul Kothari and Congress legislators, the Returning Officer accepted the BJP’s reply and documents and held Puri’s nomination valid. In a double blow to the Opposition, Lohani’s nomination was rejected for alleged non-submission of the mandatory Form 26 affidavit, which details assets, liabilities, education and criminal antecedents. Lohani had sought time to rectify the defect, citing the precedent of Parimal Nathwani in Jharkhand, but the plea was not accepted. The third candidate, Kante Sayanna, was also rejected over deficiencies.

 

With Puri now the sole valid candidate, his formal election is expected to be announced after the withdrawal deadline ends on November 5. The Congress, however, is refusing to accept the verdict. Katare and Congress MLA Atif Aqeel said they would approach the High Court, alleging biased proceedings. “Despite such major errors, the nomination was not rejected. We had presented all the evidence. This is an attack on India’s democracy,” they said. The BJP, which announced Puri on October 28, had little to worry about numerically in any case. It holds 164 MLAs in the 230-member Assembly against the Congress’s 65, well above the 116 votes needed to win. Puri had filed his nomination on October 31 in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav.