Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was on Tuesday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, PTI reported.

Gandhi had filed the nomination for the Rajya Sabha on February 14. On the same day, she said she would not contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election because of her age and health concerns.

The 77-year-old is currently serving her fifth term in the Lok Sabha, representing Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli constituency.

Gandhi won the Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan as no other candidates contested the election and Tuesday was the last day to withdraw nominations.

Advertisement

Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore from the Bharatiya Janata Party were also elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, said Assembly Secretary Mahaveer Prasad Sharma.

Three Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan will become vacant when the terms of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav end on April 3.

The third seat fell vacant in December after BJP’s Kirori Lal Meena resigned following his victory in the Assembly election.

This will be Gandhi’s first stint in the Upper House of Parliament.

Sonia Gandhi has been an MP from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat since 2004. Before that, she represented the Amethi constituency between 1999 and 2004.