India, Oct. 31 -- Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha by-election from Madhya Pradesh.

The seat fell vacant after Union minister L Murugan resigned from the Rajya Sabha on October 13.

Murugan's term was to end in April 2030 but his early resignation vacated the seat, necessitating a by-election, for which Puri was declared a candidate by the BJP.

Before filing his papers, Puri offered prayers at a Gurudwara and sought blessings from Sant Sudesh Shandilya Maharaj at Karuna Dham Ashram.

As part of preparations for the nomination process, minister of state Krishna Gaur signed the consent letter as a proposer for Hardeep Singh Puri.

At the time of filing the ...