Union Minister Hardeep Puri Set To Win Rajya Sabha Bypoll As Nominations Of 2 Others Rejected

Bhopal: With the rejection of the nomination papers of two independent candidates including one backed by Congress on Tuesday, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri is set to win a Rajya Sabha by-election from Madhya Pradesh.The result will be announced on November 5, the last day for withdrawal of nominations, an official said.On the last day for the scrutiny, the nominations of Kante Sayanna and Congress-backed Rajkumar Lohani were rejected, he said.For their part, the two independent candidates along with Congress leader Hemant Katare objected to Puri's nomination papers, contending that his affidavit in Form 26 was invalid and incomplete.Returning Officer Umesh Sharma examined the objection and held that Puri had not violated any requirements of the Representation of the People Act.No defect was found in Puri's papers, Sharma said in his order.Katare and Congress MLA Atif Aqeel said that they will move court against the order."This is an attack on Indian democracy. Despite such significant errors, the nomination was not rejected," they said in a statement.The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after the resignation of Union Minister L Murugan. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)