Bollywood actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar was unanimously elected Rajya Sabha member on Friday.
Returning officer and Assembly Secretary Jagdish Chandra gave Babbar the certificate of being unanimously elected to the Upper House in the presence of Chief Minister Harish Rawat and State PCC president Kishore Upadhyaya and others.
In his first reaction, Babbar said he was very grateful to AICC president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. He is also grateful to the Chief Minister and the party State leadership.
Babbar also said he bowed to the people of Devbhoomi and would try to rise to their expectations as an MP. He assured the people, “I am not here to run away but to settle down among the people of the State”. He, however, tried to omit the brand called ‘outsider’.
Babbar said he was an MP from united Uttar Pradesh and his association with Uttarakhand dated back many years when he visited the picturesque hill State for film shoots.
Babbar’s election was a foregone conclusion as there was no one else in the fray with the main Opposition BJP having decided not to field a candidate.
However, technically, he could not have been declared elected before today which was the last day for withdrawal of nominations.
Babbar emerged as the party’s choice for the lone vacant Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand despite stiff competition from the likes of former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Pradesh Congress president Kishore Upadhyaya whose names had been doing the rounds as probable nominees.
The seat had fallen vacant last month with the untimely demise of Rajya Sabha MP Manorama Sharma Dobriyal.