Published Jun 11, 2026 | 4:40 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 11, 2026 | 5:43 PM
Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected following a BJP complaint that she had failed to disclose a case registered against her in Telangana.
Synopsis: The BJP won all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh unopposed on 11 June after the nomination withdrawal process concluded. The outcome followed the rejection of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination over an alleged failure to disclose a criminal case. Despite the Congress challenging the decision as baseless, the Supreme Court had earlier in the day declined to intervene.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh swept all three Rajya Sabha seats from the state unopposed on Thursday, 11 June, after the completion of the nomination withdrawal process left no other candidates in the fray.
Returning Officer Arvind Sharma declared BJP nominees Rajneesh Agrawal, Tarun Chugh and Mahesh Kewat elected and certified them as duly elected members of the Council of States.
The election was held to fill the seats falling vacant on 21 June following the completion of the terms of BJP MPs George Kurian and Sumer Singh Solanki, and Congress MP Digvijaya Singh.
The development came hours after the Supreme Court declined to issue any interim orders on a challenge to the Returning Officer’s decision to reject the nomination of Congress candidate and AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan during scrutiny.
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Natarajan’s nomination was rejected following a BJP complaint that she had failed to disclose a case registered against her in Telangana in her nomination papers.
The Congress, however, has maintained that no criminal case was pending against Natarajan and that she had only been served a notice. On Wednesday, the party approached the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing.
A Bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice A.S. Chandurkar agreed to hear the matter after Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi sought urgent listing.
Singhvi urged the court to restrain the declaration of the election results. However, the Bench declined to grant any interim relief, observing that courts do not interfere at the interim stage in election matters.
Congress nominees for the Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka—AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Working Committee member Pawan Khera, and AICC Secretary Mansoor Ali Khan—were declared elected unopposed on Thursday, alongside BJP nominee M Nagaraja.
The polls were set to be held on 18 June to fill four seats that will fall vacant on 25 June following the completion of the terms of Kharge, Narayana Koragappa and HD Deve Gowda.
Honoured to receive the Certificate of Election from the Returning Officer, confirming my unanimous election to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.
I am deeply grateful to the @INCIndia & @INCKarnataka leadership, my colleagues, and every MLA who placed their trust in me. I accept… pic.twitter.com/4AnepVF8VJ
— Mansoor Khan (@MansoorKhanINC) June 11, 2026
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar congratulated the newly elected Congress MPs.
“I am confident that they will champion Karnataka’s interests in Parliament, effectively voicing the aspirations of our people and working towards the state’s continued progress and development,” he wrote in a post on X.
Praveen Chakravarthy, the Congress-sponsored candidate, was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
The by-election was held to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Rajya Sabha member C Ve Shanmugam on 7 May.
With no other candidates remaining in the fray after the withdrawal process, the Returning Officer and Additional Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretariat declared Chakravarthy duly elected to the Council of States.
