Rekha Sharma- former Chairperson of the National Commission for Women and BJP candidate has been declared elected unopposed for the Rajya Sabha by-election from Haryana.
As the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Friday, Rekha Sharma was officially declared the winner as no other political party fielded a candidate against her. She was handed the certificate of victory by Haryana Assembly Secretary and Returning Officer Ashok Kumar Meena. The BJP had fielded her as party candidate on December 10, following which she filed her nomination for the December 20 election.
In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP holds a majority as the party won 48 seats and the Congress could win only 37 seats. Also the BJP also enjoys support of three Independent legislators. This made her victory almost certain as the Congress and other opposition parties chose not to field any candidate further solidifying BJP’s dominance in the election.
Out of the five Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana, four are now under BJP’s control. Besides Rekha Sharma, Subhash Barala, Ram Chander Jangra, and Kiran Choudhry are BJP members in the Rajya Sabha. Also independent Rajya Sabha MP Kartikeya Sharma was also elected to the Rajya Sabha with BJP’s support. Kartikeya’s mother Shakti Rani Sharma is a BJP MLA from Kalka assembly constituency.
This Rajya Sabha seat had fallen vacant following the resignation of BJP leader Krishan Lal Panwar, who stepped down after being elected to the Haryana Assembly and later he was elevated as cabinet minister in the Nayab Singh Saini government.
