Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretary hands over election certificate to Rajya Sabha MP-elect Rajinder Gupta
Oct 16, 2025
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], October 16 : Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretary cum Returning officer Ram Lok Khatana on Thursday handed over the certificate of Election to Punjab Rajya Sabha candidate Rajinder Gupta, who was elected unopposed to the upper House of Parliament.
The certificate was presented in the presence of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan. Gupta was accompanied by his wife, Madhu Gupta, during the formal handover ceremony held at the Assembly premises in Chandigarh.
Gupta was earlier announced as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s nominee for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-election in Punjab, which is scheduled to be held on October 24, as per official sources.
Gupta, who held the position of Vice Chairman of the Punjab Economic Policy and Planning Board, had resigned from the post prior to filing his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha seat.
He is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trident Group and replaces outgoing MP Sanjeev Arora in the Upper House. Gupta's nomination was reportedly backed by the party in recognition of his contributions as an industrialist and job creator in the state and beyond.
According to AAP sources, "Rajinder Gupta is a prominent Punjabi industrialist and Harvard alumnus. He has created jobs for millions of people in India and overseas through Trident Group. The party has chosen to send him to the Rajya Sabha in appreciation of his services to Punjab and the nation.
The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant following the resignation of Sanjeev Arora, who was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly from the Ludhiana West constituency in the recently held by-elections. Arora won the seat by a margin of 10,637 votes, securing a total of 35,179 votes.
Arora is the Minister of Industries in Punjab. There were rumours that Arvind Kejriwal might be nominated from Punjab to the Rajya Sabha after the resignation; however, the rumours were denied.
The party went on to say that the new face would be from Punjab itself.
The nomination is scheduled to take place at the Punjab Assembly in Chandigarh in the presence of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Arora had taken oath in the state assembly after winning the bypolls from the Ludhiana West assembly constituency.
Furthermore, the name of industrialist Kamal Oswal had also been considered for the position.
