Guwahati, June 13 || The BJP’s Kanad Purkayastha and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) veteran Birendra Prasad Baishya have been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Assam, an election official confirmed on Friday.
With no Opposition parties fielding candidates, the two National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominees were declared elected on Thursday, the last day for filing nominations.
The Rajya Sabha elections were originally scheduled for June 19.
This marks the parliamentary debut of Kanad Purkayastha, who currently serves as the BJP’s state secretary.
A native of Silchar, he is the son of late BJP stalwart and former Union minister Kabindra Purkayastha.
Baishya, a senior AGP leader and former Union minister, returns to the Upper House for a third term.
He has also previously represented Assam in the Lok Sabha.
The vacancies arose as the terms of Baishya and BJP’s Mission Ranjan Das are set to expire on June 14.
Assam has a total of seven seats in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP holds four, while its allies AGP and United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) hold one each. The remaining seat is held by an Independent member.