Puri, 74, is a former Indian Foreign Service officer who served as the country's permanent representative to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013. (File Photo)Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was formally declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.Puri, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the by-election to the vacant Rajya Sabha seat, was declared elected after the nomination papers of two other candidates were rejected during scrutiny, leaving him as the sole candidate in the contest.Returning Officer Umesh Kumar Sharma issued the certificate, under Form 24 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, which states that Puri was elected to the Council of States by the elected members of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly.With Puri not being physically present on the occasion, BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal received the certificate from the Returning Officer on the Assembly premises. Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda and BJP MLAs Rameshwar Sharma and Bhagwandas Sabnani were also present. BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal received the certificate from the Returning Officer on the Assembly premises.The by-election was necessitated by the resignation of Union Minister of State L Murugan from the Rajya Sabha on October 14. Murugan’s term was scheduled to end in April 2030. The BJP, subsequently, fielded Puri for the vacant seat.Puri filed his nomination papers on October 31 in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Deputy Chief Ministers Rajendra Shukla and Jagdish Devda, Khandelwal and other BJP leaders.The Returning Officer rejected the nominations of independent candidates Rajkumar Lohani and Kante Sayanna during scrutiny on November 3.Grounds for rejectionStory continues below this adLohani’s nomination was rejected for failing to submit the mandatory Form 26 affidavit within the prescribed deadline. The affidavit requires candidates to disclose details including criminal cases, assets and liabilities. Sayanna’s nomination was rejected for failing to meet the requirement of obtaining the prescribed number of proposers.The Congress had also raised objections to Puri’s nomination, questioning aspects of the documents submitted with his papers. The Returning Officer rejected the objections after examining the documents and hearing the parties.Puri, 74, is a former Indian Foreign Service officer who served as the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013.He entered the Rajya Sabha in January 2018 and was re-elected in 2020. He was sworn in as a Union minister in September 2017 and later served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs before taking charge of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry in 2021.Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the... Read More Tags:Hardeep Singh Puri