BJP's Dinesh Arya elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand

BJP's Dinesh Arya was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand after no other candidate filed nomination papers. A Dalit leader from Kumaon, Arya's election is seen as BJP's outreach to Dalits ahead of state assembly elections. Congress did not contest, citing lack of numbers with only 20 MLAs.