Bihar: Drugs firm owner among 6 file nominations

Dr Mahendra Prasad alias King Mahendra, owner of a premier multi-national drug manufacturing company and Ashfaque Karim, promoter of private medical colleges in Bihar are among the six candidates who filed their nomination papers at state assembly secretariat on Monday.

Union Law and IT minister, Ravi shankar Prasad, who also submitted his papers will be entering the upper house force fourth consecutive term. Prasad is the only candidate nominated by BJP.

King Mahendra, owner of the Mumbai-based Aristro Pharma had been member of Lok Sabha in 1980 and will be in Rajya Sabha for a record seventh term. He was once nominated to upper house by the President also and he represented the Congress, RJD, Janata party and now as JDU member.

Others who filed their papers on Monday include Bashitha Narayan Singh (JDU), Akhilesh Prasad Singh (Congress), Manoj Jha (RJD).

Meanwhile, Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Dharmendra Pradhan and Thawar Chand Gehlot were among the prominent candidates who filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls in various states.

Union ministers Purushottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandavia of BJP filed their nominations from Gujarat.

Pradhan, minister for petroleum and natural gas, filed his papers from Madhya Pradesh. Pradhan is a sitting Rajya Sabha member from Bihar.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot threw his hat into the ring from Madhya Pradesh. Senior lawyer and Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singvi filed his nomination from West Bengal with the support of the state's ruling TMC.