New Delhi, Oct 28: The BJP has nominated Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for a Rajya Sabha by-election in Madhya Pradesh, placing him in the contest after excluding him from its recently announced list of candidates for Uttar Pradesh. The nomination follows a vacancy created by L. Murugan’s resignation and comes as Puri’s existing term in the Upper House approaches its end in November.
The BJP said its central election committee had cleared Puri’s candidature. The Election Commission of India announced the by-election to fill the vacant seat after Murugan resigned from the Rajya Sabha, where his tenure was due to run until April 2, 2030.
Puri, 74, has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh twice, including an earlier election in which he was returned unopposed. He is the only Sikh minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet. His current term ends in November, making the Madhya Pradesh by-election the route chosen by the BJP for his return to the Upper House.
The nomination follows the party’s decision earlier this month to field eight candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. The list included two women and was presented as an effort to balance caste representation with organisational experience. Puri’s omission stood out, alongside the exclusion of Union Minister B.L. Verma and all other sitting MPs from the party’s nominations in the state.
Puri has also contested Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully. The BJP’s latest announcement places him in the race for a seat in a different state, as the party seeks to fill the vacancy created by Murugan’s resignation.
The Election Commission has scheduled polling for November 12, with the process required to conclude by November 16. The poll panel said the by-election would prevent the seat from remaining vacant for an extended period and ensure timely representation in Parliament’s Upper House.
Candidates must file their nominations by November 2. Officials will scrutinise the papers on November 3, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until November 5.
Polling will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 12, with counting scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. the same day. The election will fill the vacancy for the remainder of Murugan’s original term.
