Congress, BJP file nominations for MP Rajya Sabha seat as contest heats up
Bhopal: The contest for Madhya Pradesh’s third Rajya Sabha seat gathered pace on Monday as both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress formally filed nominations for the election.
BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat submitted his nomination in the presence of Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav and senior party leaders. The Chief Minister expressed confidence that the BJP would secure victory on all three seats being contested.
“We are fully confident that our third candidate will also win,” Yadav said after the nomination process.
Senior BJP leader and minister Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre would support the BJP in the election. His remarks came amid growing political interest around voting calculations for the third seat.
Earlier in the day, Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan filed her nomination accompanied by state Congress president Jitu Patwari, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, state in-charge Harish Chaudhary and party MLAs.
After filing her papers, Natarajan said the Congress would fight the election with unity and confidence. She described the contest as a battle of political ideologies and expressed hope of victory.
The political atmosphere was further charged after senior Congress leader Naresh Gyanchandani resigned from the party. A two-time Assembly election candidate from Bhopal’s Huzur constituency, Gyanchandani is reported to be unhappy with the party’s decision to nominate Natarajan.
In another development, Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre met Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at the CM House. However, details of their discussion were not disclosed.
The BJP had already filed nominations for two other Rajya Sabha candidates, Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal, on Saturday. The party has directed its MLAs to remain in Bhopal until June 8 as preparations continue for the election.
The third Rajya Sabha seat has emerged as the most closely watched contest in Madhya Pradesh, with both parties actively engaging their legislators ahead of voting.
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