According to the Election Commission, the last date for filing Rajya Sabha nomination papers is August 14. Former Prime Minister and veteran Congress leader Manmohan Singh filed nomination papers for the by-poll to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on August 13
Jaipur: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday (August 13) filed nomination papers for the by-poll to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. Singh filed four sets of nomination papers in the chamber of returning officer in Rajasthan Assembly.
He expressed gratitude to the Congress party for nominating him and expressed condolence for BJP's Madan Lal Saini, following whose death the seat became vacant in June.
Singh said that he would do whatever is possible to promote the cause of the people of the state.
Speaking to reporters, Singh said, "I am very grateful to the Congress party and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and all members of the Congress party for nominating me for this vacant seat in the council of states."
"I express gratitude to the people of Rajasthan and the congress party for giving me this privilege for serving the people of Rajasthan in the council of states. I will do my very best to do whatever is possible to promote the cause of the people of Rajasthan," he added.
The 86-year-old veteran Congress leader was accompanied by Gehlot, Pilot, AICC general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Avinash Pande, state parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal, chief whip Mahesh Joshi, state health minister Raghu Sharma at the time of the nomination.
The Congress has the majority in the state Assembly and Singh, thus, is likely to win the by-poll.
Rajasthan Assembly has 200 seats, but two seats are vacant.
Congress has 100 MLAs, and its alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal has one seat, Bharatiya Janata Party has 72, Bahujan Samaj Party 6, Bharatiya Tribal Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Rashtriya Loktantrik Party have two seats each, and 13 are independents.
The ruling Congress in the state also enjoys the outside support of 12 of the 13 independents and BSP legislators.
For almost three decades, Singh was a member of the upper house from Assam.
He was a Rajya Sabha member for five consecutive terms from 1991 to 2019 and the country's prime minister for two terms from 2004 to 2014.
His tenure in Rajya Sabha ended on June 14 this year, and he could not be renominated as the Congress party did not have the strength to send him to the upper house from Assam again as there was no other vacancy left.
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