Ranchi: BJP leader, Pradeep Verma and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Sarfaraz Ahmed have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand today.
As soon as the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended at 3 pm, returning officer Syed Javed Haider made a formal announcement of the winners and handed the certificates to both the candidates in the presence of Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar, who is the observer for the Rajya Sabha elections.
During the handing over of the certificates in the office room of the in-charge secretary cum returning officer, many leaders including Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri, BJP MLA CP Singh and former BJP President Ravindra Rai were present. Also, Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji and many workers of JMM were seen along with Sarfaraz Ahmed from the Grand Alliance.
Haider said as there were only two candidates in the fray they were declared winners unopposed. The winners were known on the last date of nomination on March 11 itself and it was evident that there would be no voting on March 21. Thus after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended today, the returning officer announced the winners.
After receiving his certificate, Verma thanked the BJP national president JP Nadda and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the responsibility. He said, "I will definitely maintain the dignity with which I have been given the opportunity to enter the supreme house of the country. There are many types of problems in Jharkhand which I will try to solve."
While expressing gratitude towards Hemant Soren and Shibu Soren, Ahmed said, "With the support of all the members of the Grand Alliance, I got the opportunity to go to the Upper House of the country. I have already been serving Jharkhand and will continue to do so in the future as well."
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