Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday filed his nomination papers as the BJP candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-election in Madhya Pradesh, even as police detained several Congress leaders ahead of planned protests against his candidature.
The 74-year-old leader reached the state Assembly building shortly after 11 am, along with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal under tight security.
Before submitting his papers, the Union Petroleum Minister paid obeisance at a gurudwara and visited Karuna Dham Ashram to seek the blessings of Sant Sudesh Shandilya Maharaj. MP Minister Krishna Gaur was among the proposers for his candidature.
BJP announces Puri as candidate
The BJP’s Central Election Committee had announced Puri as its nominee on October 28 for the seat vacated by the resignation of Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan, whose term was due to end in April 2030.
In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the effective strength for the November 12 bypoll stands at 229 after Congress legislator Mukesh Malhotra was disqualified following a court ruling.
Madhya Pradesh has 11 Rajya Sabha seats, of which the BJP holds seven and the Congress three, with one currently vacant.
Police detain Congress leaders ahead of protests
Anticipating protests against Puri's candidature, Bhopal police detained several Congress leaders ahead of the nomination filing.
Youth Congress district president Amit Khatri was taken to Ashbagh police station, while state vice-president Abhishek Parmar and district president Ankit Dubey were detained at Habibganj police station.
The detentions triggered protests by Youth Congress workers.
"The BJP is throttling dissent. We will continue protesting against Puri," MP Congress media cell co-ordinator Abhinav Barolia said, adding that party workers had also burnt effigies of the Union Minister across Bhopal on Friday.
Congress questions Puri's candidature
The Congress’s opposition stems from references to Puri in documents linked to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Attention is also on Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre, who maintains she is with the Congress but has been seen attending BJP events. Her voting position remains uncertain amid a pending anti-defection matter, making it difficult to assess the effective strength of the two parties.
Hours before Puri arrived in Bhopal on Friday evening, state Congress president Jitu Patwari questioned the BJP's decision to field him, alleging that a Dalit leader (Murugan) was asked to resign to accommodate the Union Minister.
Patwari claimed that publicly available documents indicated meetings and email exchanges between Puri and Epstein between 2014 and 2017, demanding an explanation from the BJP and the minister on grounds of public accountability.
"The Congress's fight is about transparency, accountability and the political dignity of Madhya Pradesh, and not about making baseless allegations against any individual," he said.
Puri has previously denied all allegations levelled against him by the opposition party regarding the matter.