Bhopal, June 6 (IANS) The BJP on Saturday initiated the process for the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha elections, with its candidates Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal filing their nomination papers amid a show of strength by the ruling party.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, state BJP president Hemant Khandelwal, ministers, and legislators accompanied the candidates to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the filing of nominations.

Before filing their papers, the candidates attended a meeting of BJP MLAs at the party’s state headquarters and later offered prayers at a temple located on the same premises.

Speaking to IANS, Rajneesh Agrawal said his nomination reflected the responsibility entrusted to him by the party leadership. “It is the party’s order. The party has assigned different responsibilities, and it has directed that I should file my Rajya Sabha nomination and take on the responsibility. I will do it accordingly,” he said.

Tarun Chugh said BJP workers follow the directives of the organisation and thanked the party leadership for allowing him to represent it in the Upper House. The filing of nominations has brought the contours of the Rajya Sabha contest in Madhya Pradesh into sharper focus.

Elections are being held for three seats in Madhya Pradesh, and the Assembly arithmetic heavily favours the BJP. The Congress has fielded former state president Meenakshi Natarajan and is expected to submit her nomination on June 8.

Ahead of the filing, the party has convened a meeting of its MLAs in Bhopal. With a total of 230 seats, 58 votes are required in Madhya Pradesh for one Rajya Sabha seat. BJP has 165, and will be left with 49 surplus votes, which it can put in the third candidate.

On the other hand, Congress’s effective strength is 62 MLAs, four more than it needs to send Meenakshi Natarajan to the Rajya Sabha.

After reaching Bhopal from New Delhi on Friday, Natarajan met several senior leaders, including former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, on Friday and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar on Saturday. The meeting will be attended by Pradesh Congress Committee chief Jitu Patwari, Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, and Madhya Pradesh Congress in-charge Harish Choudhary, who are expected to review the party’s strategy for the election.

–IANS

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