Congress candidate to be elected unopposed from HP’s lone RS seat
Shimla: Kangra District Congress Committee president Anurag Sharma is set to be elected unopposed from the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh as the BJP has not fielded any candidate this year. Sharma filed his nomination papers on the last day on Thursday. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania, state Congress chief Vinay Kumar, cabinet ministers and other senior party leaders. Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has not fielded any candidate this time.
Odisha politics sees rare twist as BJD joins hands with Cong in RS polls
Bhubaneswar: Odisha witnessed a rare political development on Thursday as the BJD exited from its NDA past to jointly field a common candidate with the Congress and CPI(M) in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, aiming to prevent the BJP from securing an additional seat in the Upper House. While BJD leaders described the alliance as an understanding to prevent horse-trading in the RS elections, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das called it “historic.” “For the first time in recent Odisha political history, like-minded parties have come together to support a common candidate. Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, Congress, and CPI(M) share a commitment to secularism,” Das said.