Two candidates each from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party were on Thursday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, PTI reported. Six main candidates were in the fray for four available spots, but two of them withdrew their nominations on Thursday.
Purshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandavia of the BJP, and Naran Rathwa and Amiben Yajnik of the Congress were the four candidates remaining after the last day to withdraw nominations.
The two candidates who backed off were the BJP’s Kiritsinh Rana and Congress-backed independent PK Valera.
Earlier, the Election Commission had accepted Rathwa’s nomination despite the BJP’s allegations that he had submitted a fake No Dues Certificate and failed to mention serious criminal cases in his affidavit.
The elections were scheduled for March 23, but are no more needed.
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