Chandigarh: Dr Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel Group of Companies and noted philanthropist, on Saturday got elected to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament, as an independent candidate from Haryana.
The state's ruling BJP has backed Dr Chandra who garnered a total of 29 votes.
Dr Chandra is one of the leading lights of the global media and entertainment industry and has been associated with numerous philanthropic activities.
He is particularly credited for revolutionizing the country's television industry by launching the first satellite television channel Zee TV in 1992 and later the first private news channel Zee News.
For his outstanding contributions to the media industry, Dr Chandra was awarded the 2011 International Emmy Directorate Award at the 39th International Emmy Awards in New York - first to receive the award recognizing excellence in television programming outside the United States.
The media moghul also shares his rich experience on the Dr Subhash Chandra Show, which is watched by over 230 million viewers across the country.
Saturday's elections for 27 Rajya Sabha seats were held simultaneously in seven states - Uttar Pradesh (11 seats), Karnataka (4), Rajasthan (4), Jharkhand (2), Uttarakhand (1), Haryana (2) and Madhya Pradesh (3).
The voting was held from 9 am to 4 pm. All 90 legislators in the Haryana assembly cast their vote during the polling.
The Haryana results were to be declared around 5 pm but the counting process was delayed due to objections raised by the ruling BJP, the opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and some independents.
After a scrutiny, the Election Commission declared 14 Congress votes as invalid - which is being said a key factor that helped Dr Chandra clear the hurdle.
There were reports that the vote of Congress legislator Randeep Singh Surjewala was cancelled following an objection raised by the BJP chief whip Gian Chand Gupta. Surjewala allegedly showed his vote to another party leader Kiran Chaudhary.
The Rajya Sabha elections were necessitated as its 55 members from 15 states will retire between June and August. Already, 30 candidates from eight states were elected unopposed to the Upper House.
Despite BJP's efforts to win more seats in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress party will continue to remain the single-largest party in the 245-member Upper House.
