Rajya Sabha polls: BJP felicitates new RS MPs including Ashok Chavan after being elected unopposed

Ashok Chavan. Pic/Atul Kamble

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis felicitated and congratulated the BJP's newly elected Rajya Sabha members, including Congress turncoat Ashok Chavan, reported news agency ANI.

The party fielded three nominees for Rajya Sabha, namely Ashok Chavan, Medha Kulkarni and Ajit Gopchade.

All three of them were elected unopposed to the upper house on Tuesday.

The newly elected Rajya Sabha members were felicitated by Fadnavis at the Vidhan Bhavan BJP office in Mumbai on Tuesday, reported ANI.

BJP State President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Minister Chandrakant Dada Patil, BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar and other leaders were present on the occasion, reported ANI.

Six candidates were in the fray from Maharashtra for the Rajya Sabha polls.

All six were elected unopposed, including the BJP's three nominees, one each from the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the opposition Congress party, reported ANI.

Shiv Sena fielded former Lok Sabha MP and Congress deceptor Milind Deora, while the NCP fielded Praful Patel, reported ANI.

While the opposition Congress fielded Chandrakant Handore for the upper house.

The Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha polls for 15 states for February 27. The results will also be announced on the same day, reported ANI.

The ECI announced the biennial Rajya Sabha polls for 56 seats, as the tenure of incumbents ends in April.

Meanwhile, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.

The BJP has won the highest number of 20 seats, followed by the Congress (6), Trinamool Congress (4), YSR Congress (3), RJD (2), BJD (2) and NCP, Shiv Sena, BRS and JD(U) one each.

As there were no other candidates in the fray on these 41 seats, the respective returning officers declared them winners on the last date of withdrawal of nominations.

The biennial elections were announced for February 27 in 56 seats. While 50 members will retire on April 2, six will do so on April 3. Now polling will be held for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka and one seat in Himachal Pradesh.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)