BJP's Satish Poonia, Alka Gurjar, Congress’ Neeraj Dangi elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

BJP candidate Alka Singh Gurjar filing her nomination for Rajya Sabha elections in the presence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and state BJP President Madan Rathore, in Jaipur | Photo Credit: ANI

Three candidates, two from the BJP and one from the Congress, were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Thursday (June 11, 2026) as no one else was in the fray after the deadline to withdraw nominations expired.

The returning officer declared Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates Satish Poonia and Alka Gurjar, and Congress' Neeraj Dangi elected unopposed to the Upper House of Parliament.

They were declared elected after the last date for withdrawal of candidature passed and the number of validly-nominated candidates was equal to the number of seats to be filled.

All nine nomination papers filed by the three candidates were found valid during a scrutiny conducted at the Rajasthan Assembly earlier this week.

With the election of Poonia and Gurjar, the BJP secured two of the three seats, while the Congress retained one seat through the election of Dangi.

"I will raise people-centric issues and highlight the party's ideology in the Upper House. Whatever the party has decided for me, I am completely satisfied with it," Poonia told reporters after he was elected unopposed.

Talking to reporters, Gurjar said, "The party leadership has given me this responsibility. I will fulfil it with full dedication and determination." Dangi thanked the Congress leadership for reposing its faith in him and said he will live up to the expectations.

Former Rajasthan BJP chief Poonia is a prominent Jat leader. He is also in charge of the party's affairs in Haryana.

A PhD in geography from the Rajasthan University, Poonia started out in student politics with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and later, rose through the BJP ranks. He has held key organisational positions, including that of the Rajasthan BJP general secretary and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha sta