JD-U's Anil Hegde elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha
May 23, 2022  22:53
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Janata Dal-United leader Anil Hegde was on Monday declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in a by-poll which was necessitated by the death of a party MP. 

Hegde collected his winner's certificate from the assembly premises and drove straight to the residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to thank the party's de facto leader who sprang a surprise by choosing the top-ranking but low key office bearer for a Rajya Sabha ticket. 

The by-election was necessitated by the death of Mahendra Prasad in December last year. 

The tenure of Karnataka-born Hegde, who was introduced to Kumar by the late George Fernandes, himself a Kannadiga who made Bihar his adoptive home, will continue till 2024. 

Meanwhile, all eyes are now fixed on the five seats in the biennial polls in the state for which the process will be set in motion with issuing of notification on Tuesday. 

Among the seats for which elections are due, two each are held by the JD-U and ally BJP while one was with the RJD. 

However, on account of diminution in its strength in the assembly, the JD-U is likely to settle with just one seat this time, which will be the RJD's gain.  

The primary claimant for the JD-U ticket is Union minister RCP Singh, whose term is about to expire. 

A former UP cadre IAS officer who took voluntary retirement to enter politics, Singh has experienced a meteoric rise since his induction into the JD-U in 2010. -- PTI
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