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Chandigarh: BJP leader Kiran Choudhry was declared elected unopposed from Haryana in the Rajya Sabha bypoll, here on Tuesday. It may be recalled that the neither the Congress - which is the principal opposition party - nor any other party fielded their nominee for the said byelection.
The seat had fallen vacant after Congress’ Deepender Hooda, who was Rajya sabha member, was recently elected to Lok Sabha from the Rohtak seat. The bypoll was held for the remaining term of the Rajya Sabha seat as Deepender’s term was to end in April 2026.
For record, in the House of 90, the ruling BJP in 2019 had won 40 seats, while the Congress secured 31 seats and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), 10 seats. Smaller players – Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) each won one seat while seven independent candidates had made it to the House.
A four-time MLA from Tosham, Kiran Choudhry, 69, was accompanied by chief minister Nayab Saini, state party chief Mohan Lal Badoli, assembly speaker Gian Chand Gupta, besides senior party leaders.
The BJP had in 2019 formed a coalition government with JJP, which had 10 legislators, even though most of the independents also backed the saffron party. Though Manohar Lal Khattar, who belonged to the Punjabi community, continued as chief minister for BJP's second term, the BJP replaced him with Nayab Saini, an OBC leader and also snapped ties with JJP in March, this year.
Notably, some of the JJP legislators also sided with BJP, despite stern objections by party leadership.
WILL WIN ASSEMBLY POLLS AS WELL: CM
Interacting with newspersons on the occasion, chief minister Nayab Saini, said the BJP which has bagged this seat, will also win the upcoming assembly polls hands down.
"The fact that Congress didn't even dare field its candidate shows that its "propaganda" that BJP government was in minority, was false," Saini said and added that with this win, all the five Rajya sabha seats are now with BJP.
