Dehradun: Congress nominee Manorama Sharma Dobariyal was on Thursday declared elected unopposed from the only vacant Rajya Sabha seat in Uttarakhand.
Dobariyal's unopposed election was announced today, the last day for withdrawal of nominations, as there was no one else in the fray, State Assembly Secretary Jagdish Chandra said.
She was also given a certificate for her unopposed election to the Upper House of Parliament at the Vidhan Bhawan in the presence of senior party leaders including Pradesh Congress President Kishore Upadhyay, Jot Singh Bisht and Chief Minister Harish Rawat's media incharge Surendra Kumar, he said.
The seat, which fell vacant after BJP MP Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year, was scheduled to go to polls on November 20.
However, none except Dobariyal filed nomination from the seat, with main opposition BJP deciding not to field a candidate since it did not have the required numbers in the state Assembly. Dobariyal had filed nominations on November 10.
The ruling Congress has 35 MLAs in the 70-member state Assembly and also enjoys the support of seven-member PDF, whereas BJP has 28 legislators.
Former Mayor of Dehradun, Dobariyal had served on several key posts in the women's wing of the Congress state units in undivided Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The 54-year-old leader is known for fighting for women's issues.
