Bhopal: The Rajya Sabha bypoll from Madhya Pradesh has effectively been decided at the scrutiny table, three days before anyone votes.
Returning officer Umesh Sharma rejected the nomination papers of Kante Sayanna and Congress-backed Rajkumar Lohani on Tuesday, the last day of scrutiny, officials said. That leaves Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri as the sole candidate. The result is to be declared on November 5, the last date for withdrawal.
The seat fell vacant after Union minister L. Murugan resigned on October 14. His term was to run until April 2, 2030. The Election Commission announced the schedule on October 22, with nominations closing on November 2.
Sayanna, Lohani and Congress leader Hemant Katare had filed objections to Puri's papers, arguing that the affidavit he submitted in Form 26 was incomplete and invalid. Sharma examined the objections and held that Puri had not breached any provision of the Representation of the People Act. "No defect was found in Puri's papers," he said in his order.
Congress did not accept the ruling. Katare and Congress MLA Atif Aqeel said in a statement that the decision was "an attack on Indian democracy" and that they would challenge it in court. "Despite such significant errors, the nomination was not rejected," they said.
Puri, a Rajya Sabha member since 2018, moved to the petroleum and natural gas portfolio in 2021 and has held it since. The BJP chose not to renominate him; outgoing MP B. L. Verma, from Uttar Pradesh, figures in the coming round of biennial elections.
The arithmetic of the Madhya Pradesh bypoll made a contest unlikely from the start. The BJP holds a large majority in the 230-member assembly, and a single Rajya Sabha seat from the state requires only a fraction of that strength. With both rival nominations out, the poll becomes a formality.
For the Congress, the fight has shifted from the ballot box to the courtroom and to the language of procedure. Its complaint is narrow and technical, and it is the kind that courts take time to hear. The party has not said when it will file.
What remains on the calendar is a single line: November 5, when the returning officer declares the result. If nothing changes before then, Puri returns to the House for another term, this time without a rival on paper.