Hardeep Singh Puri to File Nomination for Rajya Sabha By-Election in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal, October 30 (Daily Kiran) : Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, is set to submit his nomination for the Rajya Sabha by-election in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated him for the vacant seat in the Rajya Sabha.

According to the Madhya Pradesh BJP media department, Puri will depart from the state BJP headquarters at 11 a.m. to file his nomination papers at the state assembly.

He will be accompanied by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president and MLA Hemant Khandelwal, state organization general secretary Chandrashekhar, and other senior leaders during the filing process.

Before submitting his nomination, Puri will pay tribute to the statues of senior party leaders alongside Chief Minister Yadav at the state BJP headquarters at 10:30 a.m.

The BJP announced Puri’s candidacy on October 28 for the by-election scheduled for November 12. The seat became vacant following the resignation of Union Minister L. Murugan, whose term was set to last until April 2030.

Currently, Puri is a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, with his term expiring on November 25. His nomination from Madhya Pradesh has sparked political controversy, with the Congress party questioning the decision to nominate an outsider rather than a local leader.

The Congress has also raised concerns regarding Puri’s past associations, notably his meetings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, demanding clarifications from both Puri and the BJP. However, given the BJP’s strong presence in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, where it holds 164 seats compared to Congress’s 65, Puri’s victory is considered likely.