New Delhi: Former National Commission for Women chairperson and BJP leader Rekha Sharma was declared elected unopposed in the Rajya Sabha bypoll from Haryana after the deadline for withdrawing nominations closed at 3 pm on Friday.

Sharma submitted her nomination for the Haryana Rajya Sabha bypoll on Tuesday, and was the only candidate in the race.

The BJP had announced her candidacy for the bypolls on December 20 earlier on Monday.

Opposition Did Not Field Candidate Against Rekha Sharma

After being declared elected unopposed, Sharma received her certificate from the Returning Officer, accompanied by Haryana Minister Mahipal Dhanda and former Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta.

The opposition did not field a candidate for the by-polls.

“I will become the voice of the people of Haryana and will raise their concerns in the Rajya Sabha,” said former NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma after getting elected unanimously as Rajya Sabha member. 

In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP holds a majority with 48 members, while the Congress has 37 seats, the INLD has two, and three are Independents, who also support the Nayab Singh Saini government.

The Rajya Sabha seat became vacant when BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar resigned following his election as an MLA in the October state assembly polls. Panwar is currently serving as Haryana’s Development and Panchayat Minister.

With Sharma’s unopposed election, the number of BJP members in the Rajya Sabha from Haryana rises to four, joining Subhash Barala, Ram Chander Jangra, and Kiran Choudhry. Kartikeya Sharma remains an Independent member.