Mumbai, Nov. 9 -- Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh on 5 November 2026. Returning Officer Umesh Kumar Sharma declared him elected after the deadline for withdrawing nominations ended.

Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal collected Puri's certificate of election from the Returning Officer. Party MLA Rameshwar Sharma was also present.

Puri emerged as the sole candidate after the nominations of two independent candidates, Rajkumar Lohani and Kante Sayanna, were rejected during scrutiny.

Lohani, who was backed by the Congress, failed to submit the mandatory Form 26 affidavit within the prescribed deadline. Sayanna's nomination was rejected for failing to meet ...