UNION Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh, closing a by-election that never reached the ballot box. The formal declaration came after the 3 pm deadline for withdrawal of nominations expired on November 5. Returning Officer Umesh Kumar Sharma declared Hardeep Singh Puri elected and handed over the certificate of election. Since Hardeep Singh Puri was in Delhi, BJP State President and MLA Hemant Khandelwal received it on his behalf at the Assembly in Bhopal. Deputy CM Jagdish Devda, MLA Rameshwar Sharma, State General Secretary Rahul Kothari, State Minister Lokendra Parashar, MLA Bhagwandas Sabnani, State media in-charge Brijgopal Loya and district president Ravindra Yati were present. The contest had effectively ended during scrutiny on November 3, when the nominations of the only two other candidates were rejected. Congressbacked Independent Rajkumar Lohani was rejected for failing to submit the mandatory Form 26 affidavit in time.