Despite not having enough numbers to field three Rajya Sabha candidates in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has managed to do so, thanks to the Returning Officer's decision to cancel Congress's Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination.
In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly, the BJP has 163 seats. At least 58 first-preference votes are needed for each of the three Rajya Sabha candidates from the state. With 163 votes, the BJP could comfortably stake claim to two RS seats, where Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal were nominated.
With 66 seats, the Congress also had just enough numbers to bag the third seat, wherein the party nominated Meenakshi Natarajan.
However, the BJP fielded a third candidate, Mahesh Kewat, citing that several local Congress leaders were not happy with the high command move to nominate Natarajan. While the Congress dismissed BJP's claims, the resignation of senior party leader Naresh Gyanchandani over Natarajan's candidature put the grand old party under pressure.
BJP then played its next move by submitting a formal objection to Returning Officer Arvind Sharma, who is also the principal secretary for the Madhya Pradesh assembly. The ruling party urged the poll panel to cancel Natarajan's nomination, citing missing details regarding a criminal case.
However, the Congress pointed out that Natarajan does not face any criminal case nor was any FIR lodged against her, citing that the legal matter was actually related to a court notice. The BJP also failed to produce the copy of the alleged FIR.
The Congress has moved the Supreme Court to find a resolution in the rejection of nomination. The apex court bench of Justices P.K. Mishra and Atul S. Chandurkar is set to hear the matter on Friday, but the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended at 3 pm on Thursday.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Natarajan, argued that the Returning Officer acted illegally, arbitrarily and with bias.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha alleged that after "vote chori" and "sarkar chori", the BJP was involved in "seat chori" in the Rajya Sabha elections.
"After 'vote chori' and 'sarkar chori', the BJP-EC jugalbandi has finished the contest before it has even begun with 'seat chori'," Gandhi said in a post on X. "Look at what happened in the Rajya Sabha elections. Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan ji submitted every document. No pending cases. The EC cancelled her nomination on BJP's frivolous objection."
