Union Minister Ravneet Bittu elected to RS unopposed from Rajasthan

Jaipur, Aug 27 (IANS) Union Minister and BJP nominee Ravneet Singh Bittu was on Tuesday elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Rajasthan. 

The Congress did not field any candidate for the post as BJP's victory was almost certain going by its strength of MLAs in Rajasthan.

Tuesday was the last day for withdrawal of nominations by the candidates, following which Ravneet Bittu was elected unopposed as there were no other candidate in the fray for the elections.

Accordingly, election officer Mahavir Prasad Sharma handed over the notification confirming the BJP nominee's victory to Yogendra Singh Tanwar, who was authorised by Ravneet Bittu for the job.

A former two-time Congress MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Bittu, the Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing Industries, had switched to the BJP just before the Lok Sabha elections in March this year.

The grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister late Beant Singh and the son of ex-Punjab minister Tej Parkash Singh, Ravneet Bittu was a surprise pick in Modi 3.0 after he lost the Lok Sabha elections from Ludhiana on a BJP ticket.

He needed to become a member of the Parliament within six months since he was made a Union Minister despite losing the Lok Sabha elections.

After the Congress did not field its candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat in Rajasthan, three nominees, including Ravneet Bittu, were left in the fray. While BJP's second candidate Sunil Kothari withdrew his nomination on Friday, Independent nominee Babita Wadhwani's nomination was cancelled after scrutiny.

Going by numbers, votes of 98 MLAs were required to win the Rajya Sabha seat. However, the Congress has only 66 MLAs in the present Rajasthan Assembly.

Rajasthan has 10 Rajya Sabha seats of which five are currently with the Congress, while the BJP now has five members after Ravneet Bittu's unopposed election.

The other BJP Rajya Sabha members from Rajasthan are Rajendra Gehlot, Ghanshyam Tiwari, Chunnilal Garasiya, and Madan Rathore.

The Congress is represented by Sonia Gandhi, Neeraj Dangi, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, and Pramod Kumar.

--IANS

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