CHENNAI: Congress candidate Praveen Chakravarty has been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu in the by-election held to fill a vacant seat, the Returning Officer announced on Thursday after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended at 3 pm, said a Maalaimalar report.
The by-election was necessitated after AIADMK leader CV Shanmugam resigned from his Rajya Sabha membership following his victory from the Mayilam Assembly constituency in the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly election.
The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and its alliance partners had allotted the seat to the Congress, extending their full support to Chakravarty's candidature.
A total of 14 independent candidates had also filed nominations for the election. However, all their nominations were rejected during scrutiny on June 9 as they failed to secure the mandatory support of at least 10 MLAs required to contest a Rajya Sabha election.
With Chakravarty emerging as the only valid candidate in the fray, he was declared elected unopposed. The Returning Officer subsequently issued him the certificate of election.