Bhardwaj, Shinde file papers; Cong names 5 more to RS

New Delhi, Mar 16 (UNI) With just one day left for filing of nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha, Union Ministers Hans Raj Bhardwaj and Shushilkumar Shinde and BJP leader Vinay Katiyar were among 19 candidates who today filed their nominations while the Congress named five more candidates for the biennial polls to the Upper House.

The last date for filing of nomination papers is tomorrow.

Scrutiny will be done on March 18 and the last date of withdrawal is March 20. The election will take place on March 28.

The process of filing of nominations began on March 10 with the Election Commission issuing a notification.

Union Law Minister Bhardwaj, a senior Congress leader who had been a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh last time, filed his papers in Haryana Assembly in Chandigarh today seeking re-election.

Mr Bhardwaj filed his nomination papers to fill the lone seat from Haryana. The seat would fall vacant on the retirement of sitting member of Rajya Sabha, Mr Faquir Chand.

In Lucknow, senior BJP leaders Kalraj Mishra and Vinay Katiyar today filed their nomination papers for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh.

Industrialist Sudanshu Mittal filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate.

Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde (Congress), Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel and Vasant Chavan (both NCP) and Prof Bal Apte (BJP) also filed their nomination papers in Maharashtra.

Mr Manohar Joshi (Shiv Sena) had already filed his nomination papers earlier. There are six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra.

Three CPI (M) candidates and one Forward Bloc member, meanwhile, filed their nomination for the coming biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal.

Those who filed their papers to the state assembly secretariat are Mr Saman Pathak, Mr Barun Mukherjee, Mr Moinul Hasan from CPI (M) and Mr Tapan Kr Sen of Forward Bloc.

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