CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: National People's Party (NPP) leader James P.K. Sangma moved closer to securing a seat in the Rajya Sabha unopposed after his nomination papers for Meghalaya's lone Upper House seat were found valid during scrutiny on Tuesday.
With no other candidate entering the contest, there will be no need for physical polling in the biennial Rajya Sabha election, underlining the numerical advantage enjoyed by the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance in the State Assembly.
Chief Electoral Officer B.D.R. Tiwari said that only one nomination had been received and that it had successfully passed scrutiny. He stated that once the withdrawal period concluded on June 11, the Returning Officer would issue the certificate of election to the candidate.
James P.K. Sangma, the nominee of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance, had submitted his papers on June 8. The scrutiny process was carried out by Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Secretary and Returning Officer Malthus S. Sangma, who examined the nomination documents and found them to be in order.
Following the scrutiny, Sangma said the officials had verified all the documents submitted by him at the time of filing his nomination and had found everything to be in accordance with the requirements, allowing the process to proceed further.
As no rival nomination was filed, the expiry of the withdrawal deadline on June 11 is expected to complete the remaining formalities, paving the way for Sangma's formal declaration as an elected member of the Rajya Sabha without a contest.
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