Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh after its candidates, Rajneesh Agrawal, Tarun Chugh and Mahesh Kewat, were elected unopposed in the 2026 Rajya Sabha elections. The development came after the nomination of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan was rejected during scrutiny, effectively clearing the path for BJP’s candidates.
Following the completion of the nomination withdrawal process, there were no remaining challengers in the fray, resulting in the three BJP nominees being declared elected without a contest. The victorious candidates later received their certificates of election at the Madhya Pradesh Assembly complex. The three candidates displayed their certificates of election after receiving them from the Returning Officer at the state assembly premises.
The political equation for the Rajya Sabha election, originally scheduled for voting on June 18, changed dramatically when Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected by the Returning Officer during the scrutiny process. Returning Officer Arvind Sharma accepted the objection raised by the BJP and declared the nomination invalid. According to the BJP, Natarajan had allegedly failed to disclose details of a pending case in Telangana in her nomination papers which made the filing incomplete and liable for rejection.
Congress alleges conspiracy, challenges decision
The Congress has strongly opposed the decision, describing the rejection of Natarajan’s nomination as illegal and politically motivated. Party leaders have alleged that the BJP engineered the situation to secure the third Rajya Sabha seat despite not having sufficient numbers to comfortably win all three seats through a direct electoral contest. The controversy has now reached the judicial arena, with the matter scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Friday (June 12).
SC to hear Meenakshi Natarajan’s plea on June 12
The Supreme Court will hear Natarajan’s plea challenging the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination papers. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices PK Mishra and Atul S Chandurkar, describing it as a genuinely urgent case and seeking either an early listing or a one-line interim order. Taking note of the submissions, the Supreme Court listed the matter for hearing tomorrow. Arguing that the Returning Officer wrongly rejected Natarajan’s nomination for allegedly failing to disclose a pending criminal case, Singhvi submitted, “Only a summons was issued (against her), not even a cognisance of the case. The Returning Officer disqualifies her.”
