New Delhi, August 19: Former Prime Minister and Congress leader Dr Manmohan Singh has been elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed, said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday. In a tweet, Ashok Gehlot described Manmohan Singh's election to the Upper House of Parliament as "a matter of pride" for Rajasthan. Singh filed his nomination papers as Congress candidate on August 13.

"I congratulate former PM Dr #ManmohanSingh ji on being elected unopposed as a member of #RajyaSabha from #Rajasthan. Dr Singh’s election is a matter of pride for entire state. His vast knowledge and rich experience would benefit the people of Rajasthan a lot (sic)," Gehlot tweeted. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided not to field its candidate against the former PM. The seat fell vacant due to the demise of BJP’s Madan Lal Saini. Manmohan Singh Thousand Times Better Than Narendra Modi, Says Arvind Kejriwal.

Congress was confident of Singh's victory as it has 100 MLAs in the 200-member state Assembly while its coalition partner Rashtriya Lok Dal has a legislator. The Congress has also the outside support of all six BSP MLAs and 12 independents. The BJP has 72 members in the Assembly. Singh was a Rajya Sabha member from Assam for five consecutive terms between 1991 and 2019.

His tenure in Rajya Sabha ended on June 14 this year and he could not be renominated as the Congress party did not have the strength to send him to the Upper House from Assam again and there was no other vacancy left. The Congress party had then tried to send Singh to Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. However, Congress's ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) declared its candidates on all three seats in its quota.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2019 04:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).