Haryana BJP, Cong to send one member each to Rajya Sabha

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 26

The March 26 election to the two seats of Rajya Sabha from Haryana will see one representative each from the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress make it to the Upper House of Parliament.

With the Election Commission announcing schedule for biennial election from Haryana, the election process has been set in motion for the polls with March 13 being the last date for filing of nominations.

Kumari Selja, Congress Rajya Sabha MP, completed her tenure in April. Similarly, Ram Kumar Kashyap, former INLD MP, who joined the BJP before the Assembly election last year and was subsequently elected  MLA from Indri, would have completed his six-year tenure in April this year but he resigned in November last year to contest the Assembly poll. However, the date for byelection to another seat from Haryana, vacated by BJP member Birender Singh, is yet to be announced.

Going by the strength of the BJP, its alliance partner JJP and the main opposition Congress, the BJP and the Congress are assured of one seat each. The election to the Rajya Sabha seats are held by way of proportional representation by a single transferable vote.

While members elected in place of Kumari Selja and Kashyap will serve a full term of six years till 2026, the member elected in place of Birender Singh will have a term for the remainer period till August 2022.

Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha election Ajit Balaji Joshi told The Tribune that the election process had been set in motion for the two seats of the Rajya Sabha from Haryana. “However, byelection to another seat will be held separately,” he added.

In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP has 40 MLAs while its alliance partner JJP has 10 legislators. The main opposition Congress has a strength of 31 members while out of eight Independependent MLAs, seven have extended support to the BJP-JJP government. The INLD has one member.

Meanwhile, the scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on March 16. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 18.

Schedule

*Last date of filing nominations                       March 13

*Scrutiny of nominations                                 March 16

*Last date of withdrawal of nominations          March 18

*Elections and counting of votes                     March 26

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