PM wins Rajya Sabha polls for the fifth time from Assam

In a major relief to the Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today won the Rajya Sabha polls from Assam without any hiccups even as there were apprehensions that party dissidents may play spoilsport. This marks the fifth time that Singh has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state. The prime minister, who is in Thailand at present, got 49 votes in his favour while only 39 votes were needed for a victory. [caption id=“attachment_828457” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The other Congress candidate Santius Kujur also entered the Rajya Sabha for the first time after receiving 45 votes, defeating AIUDF’s candidate Aminul Islam. On Tuesday, a nervous Congress had issued a whip making it mandatory for all its state MLAs to vote in favour of the party’s candidates. Of the 126 legislators, 112 MLAs participated in the elections today. The Asom Gana Parishad and Bharatiya Janata Party stayed away from the voting.