BJP's D P Vats declared elected unopposed to fill RS from Haryana

Retired Lt General D P Vats, who was chosen by the BJP as its nominee for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Haryana, was today elected unopposed as no other contestant had filed nomination, an official said.

The seat is currently held by Congress member Shadi Lal Batra who is retiring on April 2.

"...Vats has been duly elected to fill the seat in that House (Rajya Sabha) of a member retiring on April 2, on the expiration of his term," the official said.

Vats, 67, had filed his nomination on the last day of filing of papers on March 12. Today was the last date of withdrawal of candidature.

No other contestant had filed nomination, he said.

The ruling BJP has 47 MLAs in the 90-member House and Vats was poised to win the seat comfortably. The INLD has 19 members, the Congress 17, the BSP and the SAD one each. There are 5 Independents.

BJP's Rajya Sabha members' strength from Haryana has now increased to two. Union minister Birender Singh is the other RS member from the state.

Media baron Subhash Chandra is an Independent member who was elected to the RS from the state in 2016.

Indian National Lok Dal has one Rajya Sabha member from the state and once Batra retires on April 2, Congress would be left with just one RS member Kumari Selja.

Vats, who hails from Hisar, had served as the director and commandant of the prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune.

He also served as the chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission between May 2011 and April 2012 during the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in the state.