Six including Ravi Shankar Prasad elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed

Patna: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and five others were declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Bihar today.Returning Officer for Rajya Sabha election cum Bihar Assembly secretary Ram Shreshtha Rai said, union minister and BJP leader Mr Prasad, state JD (U) president Bashistha Narain Singh, industrialist Mahendra Prasad Singh alias King Mahendra, RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha, Katihar Medical College Managing Director Ashfaque Kareem, (from RJD quota), Congress leader and former union minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh were elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha after the deadline for withdrawal of nomination papers ended. 

Three candidates each from National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and RJD led Grand Alliance had filed their nomination papers for six seats falling vacant on April 02 paving the way for election of all six candidates unopposed to Rajya Sabha. As it is, all six seats falling vacant are presently held by leaders from ruling alliance.

The main opposition party RJD and Congress benefited by two seats and one seat respectively in the Rajya Sabha election.Congress, which had no member from Bihar in Rajya Sabha would now have a member in the upper house of the Parliament from Bihar following unopposed election of Akhilesh Singh.(UNI)