Union Minister of state L Murugan now has a clear sight to victory in the Rajya Sabha by-polls in Madhya Pradesh after the BJP's arch-rival Congress has decided not to field a candidate against him. Through this decision, L Murugan will more likely get elected to the Upper house of the Parliament as a BJP MP unopposed. 

L Murugan was serving as the Tamil Nadu BJP President and recently, he was inducted into the Union Cabinet after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had carried out a cabinet overhaul.  Murugan was appointed as the Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Though he was made as the Union Minister, he was not elected to the Parliament. As per the constitutional norm, a Union Minister must be elected either to the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

If a Union Minister is appointed without the status of parliamentarian, he/she must be elected to the Parliament within six months from assuming the office. As it's been nearly two months since Murugan became the Union Minister, the ruling BJP has planned to elect him to the Parliament to meet the constitutional eligibility. On Saturday, the BJP has announced that L Murugan will be contesting the Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming by-polls.

Madhya Pradesh is a BJP ruling state and the Central ruling party has 125 MLAs in the 231-member assembly while Congress has 95 legislators. Recently, the Election Commission of India has announced Rajya Sabha by-polls on October 4 for one seat each in West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and two seats in Tamil Nadu. As the BJP has decided to field Murugan in Madhya Pradesh, Congress has decided not to contest in the polls and Murugan will become MP for the first time, unopposed. 

The vacancy emerged in Madhya Pradesh for a Rajya Sabha seat after the then Union Minister Thaarwarchand Gehlot resigned as Union Minister following his appointment as Karnataka Governor in July this year. Out of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats in the state, the BJP currently has seven while the Congress has three seats. Congress spokesperson in Madhya Pradesh, Bhupendra Gupta said, "We are not going to field a candidate. Madhya Pradesh Congress chief and Leader of Opposition Kamal Nathji has decided not to field any candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-poll in the state."

According to reports, a senior BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh had expressed confidence that Murugan would have a comfortable entry to the Rajya Sabha. As per the notification from the Election Commission, the last date of filing nominations for the Rajya Sabha by-poll is September 22, and the last date of withdrawal of nomination is September 27. As Murugan will be the only candidate for the seat, there won't be a poll and he will be declared as a winner.