Union Minister George Kurian Nominates for Rajya Sabha By-elections

Elections for 12 vacant Rajya Sabha seats in nine states are scheduled to take place on September 3. The BJP has named Mr. Kurian as its candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh, which became available after Jyotiraditya Scindia’s election to the Lok Sabha. Mr. Kurian, who serves as the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, and Minority Affairs, arrived in Bhopal on Wednesday morning.

The state BJP chief, V D Sharma, extended a warm welcome to him. Following this, Mr. Kurian met with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at his official residence. Later, he submitted his nomination papers at the state assembly complex in the presence of CM Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, and state BJP chief Sharma, as reported by party spokesman Ashish Agrawal.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, now the Union Minister of Communications, vacated his Rajya Sabha seat after his election from Guna constituency earlier this year. The elections to fill the 12 vacant Rajya Sabha seats in nine states are scheduled for September 3. Of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress holds three, and the ruling BJP holds seven.

In the event of an election, if the opposition also nominates a candidate, Mr. Kurian, a leader from Kerala, could secure a comfortable victory given the BJP’s strength in the Madhya Pradesh assembly. In the 230-member House, the BJP currently has 163 MLAs, the Congress has 64, and the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) holds one seat, while two seats are presently vacant. *(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.

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