Rajya Sabha polls: All three BJP candidates from Madhya Pradesh elected unopposed

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates Tarun Chug, Rajneesh Agrawal, and Mahesh Kewat were all declared as elected unopposed to the three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh on Thursday (June 11, 2026), even as the Congress challenged the rejection of its candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination at the Supreme Court.

Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Principal Secretary Arvind Sharma, who is also the returning officer for the election, issued election certificates to the three BJP candidates, prompting celebration in the BJP camp. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI), however, is yet to take a decision on the Congress’s petition challenging the returning officer’s decision to reject Ms. Natarajan’s nomination for allegedly not disclosing a case in Telangana’s Hyderabad in which she had received a notice as a respondent. 

‘Seat theft’

The Congress slammed the returning officer and the ruling BJP, accusing them of “seat theft”, while maintaining that Ms. Natarajan did not face any FIR or charges in the Telangana case and that she was thus not required to disclose it in the election affidavit. 

State Congress president Jitu Patwari said that the party MLAs from M.P. have sought time from President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to seek her intervention in the matter. 

Outgoing Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh demanded Mr. Sharma’s dismissal, while terming the rejection “unconstitutional”. He is vacating a Rajya Sabha seat on June 21 which the Congress had hoped to fill by sending Ms. Natarajan to the Upper House. 

“Our worst fears have materialised. The Election Commission has failed to reach a decision. We urged the Supreme Court to deliver a verdict today, but that did not happen. By 4 p.m., the election results were declared. We vehemently oppose this act of theft and will expose it across the entire country. We will fight this battle to the very end and ensure that Meenakshi Natarajan makes it to the Rajya Sabha,” Mr. Singh said. 

Bias accusations

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Umang Singhar also slammed the Election Commission and accused it of bias in favour of the ruling party. 

“Given that the Election Commission has special powers to intervene and take decisions, why was no timely decision taken on the Congress party’s objection? Why is there such proactivity in matters concerning the BJP, yet silence regarding the Congress?” Mr. Singhar questioned, adding that the matter concerned the nation’s democratic process and electoral impartiality.

“If the Election Commission disregards rules, laws, and Supreme Court guidelines, it is only natural for questions to be raised about its impartiality,” he said. 

Three Rajya Sabha seats from the State, currently held by Mr. Singh, Union Minister George Kurien, and BJP MP Sumer Singh Solanki, are falling vacant. Elections for these seats were set to be held on June 18. 

Close fight evaded

The BJP, which has 164 members in the 230-seat Assembly, had the numbers to comfortably win two seats and 48 MLAs to spare. The Congress, on the other hand, has 64 MLAs of which one is not eligible to vote due to conviction in a poll affidavit case, while another Congress MLA has unofficially sided with the BJP. This left the Opposition party with just enough numbers to secure one seat.

The close contest for the third seat raised concerns of horse trading and possible cross-voting in the Congress camp. The party leadership had held meetings with its MLAs and was preparing to send them to Bengaluru in Karnataka, a Congress-ruled State.

However, even before the first flight carrying Congress MLAs and their family members could take off from Bhopal airport, the returning officer acted on an objection from the BJP regarding Ms. Natarajan’s alleged failure to disclose the case in Hyderabad, and rejected her nomination papers during the scrutiny process.