Former PM Manmohan Singh elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed

Jaipur:Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh was elected as Member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Monday.

The 86-year-old leader was elected unopposed in the absence of any other candidate.

The seat fell vacant after the death of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and party president from Rajasthan  Madan Lal Saini this June.

Dr Singh filed his nomination as a Congress candidate  last week. Interestingly, the BJP did not field any body against the veteran Congress leader.Dr Singh, also an economist, was a Member of Rajya Sabha from Assam for five consecutive terms-- from 1991 to 2019.

With the election of Dr Singh, the Congress opened its account from Rajasthan in the Upper House where it has ten seats.The Rajya Sabha houses 245 members, of which 233 are elected while 12 nominated. With Dr Singh's election, the Congress has 47 members while 78 are from BJP. (UNI)