india

Updated: Aug 20, 2019 00:48 IST

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan unopposed on Monday.

He was declared elected unopposed after the time for withdrawal of nomination got over at 3 pm.

Rajasthan has 10 Rajya Sabha seats, all of which were with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). One of the seats fell vacant after the death of former state BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Madan Lal Saini in June.

The BJP did not field any candidate against the Congress leader. With his election, the former PM has become the sole Congress leader to be elected to the Upper House of the Parliament from the state.

The government chief whip Mahesh Joshi received the election certificate on behalf of Singh.

The 87-year-old leader filed his nomination papers before the returning officer and assembly secretary Pramil Kumar Mathur on August 13.

Following Singh’s election, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted, “I congratulate former PM Dr Manmohan Singh on being elected unopposed as a member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Dr Singh’s election is a matter of pride for the entire state. His vast knowledge and rich experience would benefit the people of Rajasthan a lot.”

Singh, who was the country’s prime minister for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2014, was a Rajya Sabha member from Assam for five consecutive terms (1991 to 2019). His tenure in the Rajya Sabha ended on June 14, 2019, after which the Congress lacked the strength to send him to the Upper House from Assam again.