Union Minister George Kurian files nomination for RS bypolls

Bhopal, Aug 21 (IANS) Union Minister George Kurian on Wednesday filed his nomination papers as a BJP candidate for the upcoming bypoll to a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh. 

While filing his nomination, he was accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma, former Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste, several state Ministers and party leaders.

The BJP on Tuesday evening announced Kurian as its candidate for the Upper House seat from Madhya Pradesh that fell vacant after Jyotiraditya Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and state BJP chief V.D. Sharma welcomed him at the Chief Minister's residence and then they together went to the Assembly.

BJP veteran, Kurian (63) is the Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Farming.

Hailing from Kerala's Kottayam, he has worked to strengthen the organisation through decades in the south state.

He was part of the BJP's core group in Kerala for more than two decades and later became the state vice-president. He was also a member of the BJP's national executive.

Kurian will be the second South Indian BJP leader to become the Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh after Tamil Nadu-based Union Minister L. Murugan, at present.

The Upper House seat from the state became vacant after Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia won the Lok Sabha election from Guna constituency on June 4. Scindia was made Rajya Sabha MP in June 2020, four months after he disassociated from the Congress and joined the BJP in March 2020.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 11 seats for the Rajya Sabha, of them, eight are from the BJP, and three are from Congress.

The by-election to 12 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on September 3. The process of filing nominations started on August 14 and will continue till August 21. The BJP has already announced nine names for the coming by-election for Rajya Sabha.

Ten of 12 seats fell vacant as the sitting members, including Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Sarbananda Sonowal and Jyotiraditya Scindia, were elected to the Lok Sabha. With this election, the NDA is hoping to gain a majority in the Rajya Sabha which has eluded it for a decade.