The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced that the bypoll to a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh vacated by former Union minister L Murugan will be held on November 12.
He also spoke about what Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership meant for him. “It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve India and Tamil Nadu under your leadership. I do not come from a political family. I come from a very poor family,” he wrote.
His term was due to end on April 2, 2030. The seat fell vacant on October 14, a day after Murugan, the Union minister of state for information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs, quit the Council of Ministers and sought to give up his Rajya Sabha membership. Murugan was a Rajya Sabha member since September 2021 and was re-elected from Madhya Pradesh in April 2024. He is a former Tamil Nadu BJP chief and joined the Union Cabinet in July 2021. In his resignation letter, Murugan said he wanted to return to the grassroots and work full-time to strengthen the BJP in Tamil Nadu ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
His parents, who worked as daily wage labourers and cattle grazers, “continue to lead a simple life in Konur village”, he said.
