Bhopal, Nov 2 (PTI) Bhopal resident Rajkumar Lohani on Monday filed his nomination as an independent candidate for the November 12 Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha by-election against BJP nominee and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
Lohani (68), who filed his nomination on the last day of the process, is a resident of Ghora Nakkas area in Bhopal's old city. He has passed the higher secondary examination and runs a mobile accessories shop.
A leader of the opposition Congress, which has been protesting against Puri's candidature over alleged links with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said party MLAs would back Lohani.
Incidentally, Congress Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Hemant Katare was among Lohani's proposers, while six party MLAs were present when Lohani submitted his nomination to the returning officer at the state Assembly.
"Our party's 10 MLAs have thrown their weight behind Lohani. We don't want Puri, a man connected to Epstein, to reach the Rajya Sabha from MP," Dr Hiralal Alawa told PTI. Alawa was among the six MLAs present when Lohani filed his nomination.
Claiming that people in MP do not know much about Epstein and his connection with Puri, Alawa said the Congress is going to bring the real face of the BJP and its middleman to the fore.
Puri has steadfastly denied allegations levelled against him by the opposition with regards to Epstein.
An official, however, said Lohani's nomination papers are certain to be rejected during Tuesday's scrutiny as he has not filed an affidavit.
Another independent candidate, Kanthe Sayanna from Telangana, who threw his hat in the election arena on Saturday, too faces the same prospects as his candidature lacks proposers, the official added.
The BJP's Central Election Committee announced Puri's candidature on October 28. The Rajya Sabha seat felt vacant after Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, whose term was scheduled to end in April 2030, resigned.
The ruling BJP has a comfortable majority in the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, while the Congress does not have enough legislators to win the seat on its own. Under the prescribed electoral formula, 116 votes are required to win the seat.
Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra cannot participate in the voting process following a court order, affecting the electorate's effective strength.
The voting position of Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre is also being watched closely. Although she officially maintains that she is with the Congress, she has repeatedly been seen participating in BJP programmes. Her position remains uncertain amid a pending defection-related case.
