Chandigarh, November 24
Union Ministers Birender Singh and Suresh Prabhu, who are slated to file their nominations for the Rajya Sabha from Haryana tomorrow, are set to enter the Upper House unopposed.

With the BJP having the support of 52 MLAs (47 BJP and five others) in the 90-member House, the saffron party is set to get two seats from Haryana. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Congress are not inclined to field their nominees. INLD state president Ashok Arora said the party would not field any candidate and the two Union Ministers would be elected unopposed.

Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Rural Development Minister Birender Singh, who were inducted into the Modi Cabinet following its expansion on October 27, are not members of  Parliament. They are required to be members of House within six months of being a minister. Both the ministers would remain Rajya Sabha members till August 1, 2016.

The seats fell vacant after Birender Singh quit on August 28 and Ranbir Singh Prajapati (INLD) on November 1. Prajapati vacated his Rajya Sabha seat after being elected to the Haryana Assembly from Nalwa.

November 25 is the last date for filing nominations while scrutiny will be held on November 26. The last date for withdrawal is November 28. Polling, if necessary, will be held on December 5 and counting will take place the same evening.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was the lone BJP nominee to reach the Rajya Sabha in 1990 with the Lok Dal’s support. Later, her husband Swaraj Kaushal was also elected on the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) symbol in 1999 during the Bansi Lal-led HVP-BJP government.