Jharkhand Rajya Sabha bypolls: JMM fields minority leader Haji Hussain Ansari against MJ Akbar

RANCHI: BJP leader MJ Akbar and JMM's former minister Haji Hussain Ansari today filed nomination papers for the July 2 Rajya Sabha by-elections with only one year left for the term to end.

Akbar filed papers in three sets with Chief Minister Raghubar Das and eight of his cabinet ministers and several BJP MLAs proposing his name.

AJSU party MLA and state Water Resources minister, Chandraprakash Choudhary, was among the proposers.

JMM leader and former minister Haji Hussain Ansari filed his papers in two sets, Returning Officer-cum-Secretary of the Jharkhand Assembly Sushil Kumar said.

JMM vice-president and former chief minister Hemant Soren and other leaders accompanied Ansari.

The by-election has been necessitated following the resignation of Kanwar Deep Singh.

Today was the last date for nominations, the returning officer said, adding, scrutiny would be taken up tomorrow and June 25 was the last date for withdrawal of nomination.

Results would be declared the same day of the polling, July 2, with one year of the term of the Upper House remaining, Kumar said.