Union ministers Suresh Prabhu, Birender Singh file nominations for RS polls

Chandigarh: Union Ministers Birender Singh and Suresh Prabhu, who have been nominated by BJP for by-elections to two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana, filed their nominations in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, ministers and all the BJP MLAs were present when the two filed their nomination before Returning Officer Sumit Kumar, who is also the Secretary of Haryana Assembly.

Today is the last day of filing of nominations for the by-election. Polling, if required, will be held on 5 December and the results will be declared the same day.

The two ministers, who were inducted in the Union Cabinet following its expansion on 27 October, are not members of the Parliament and are required to be an MP within six months of being a Minister.

Birender Singh was earlier a Rajya Sabha member of Congress from Haryana but quit his seat to join the BJP ahead of assembly elections in the state.

The by-elections were necessitated as the seats had fallen vacant after Birender Singh resigned from his seat on 28 August and Ranbir Singh of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) quit on 1 November after being elected to the assembly from Nalwa seat.

BJP, which formed government on its own in Haryana for the first time after getting absolute majority in last month’s assembly polls, is assured of getting both the seats unopposed, helping further raise the party’s strength in the Upper House where it does not enjoy a majority.

BJP at present has only 43 seats in Rajya Sabha. The terms of the two ministers will be till 1 August, 2016.

PTI