Unopposed Election: Six Leaders from Tamil Nadu Secure Rajya Sabha Seats
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Chennai, March 9 (NationPress) On Monday, six individuals from prominent political factions in Tamil Nadu were officially elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, which is the Upper House of Parliament, as the number of nominees perfectly matched the available seats.
The elected members comprise DMK representatives Tiruchi Siva and J. Constandine Ravindran, AIADMK's M. Thambi Durai, PMK head Anbumani Ramadoss, Congress's Christopher Manickam, and DMDK's L.K. Sudhish.
Returning Officer R. Santhi publicly confirmed their election and presented the election certificates to the winners.
This announcement followed the finalization of the nomination and verification phase, which revealed that no electoral contest would take place. As per the Election Commission's regulations, candidates can be declared elected unopposed when the number of valid nominations is equal to the total number of seats.
Santhi indicated that the candidates were elected according to Section 53(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Rule 11(1) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which permit such declarations without conducting a poll.
Initially, 18 candidates had submitted nominations for the six available seats. However, one candidate withdrew their nomination before the deadline, while seven others had their nominations rejected during the scrutiny phase, leaving only six valid contenders.
Among the elected representatives, Tiruchi Siva of DMK and veteran AIADMK member M. Thambi Durai are returning to the Rajya Sabha after completing their previous terms. PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has also secured another term in the Upper House.
On the other hand, Congress candidate Christopher Manickam and DMDK's L.K. Sudhish will be entering the Rajya Sabha for the first time.
The six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu will be vacated on April 2 following the completion of the terms of sitting members N. R. Elango, P. Selvarasu, M. Thambi Durai, Tiruchi Siva, and Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu.
Based on its representation in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, the ruling DMK nominated two candidates and allocated one seat each to its coalition partners Congress and DMDK. The AIADMK put forward one candidate while backing the PMK for another seat.
With these elections, Tamil Nadu maintains its full strength of 18 members in the Rajya Sabha, representing various political parties from the state.