PM wins record fourth RS term from Assam NET News Network http://www.northeasttribune.com/6905.htm
Guwahati, May 17: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was today elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Assam for a record fourth consecutive term in the Upper House of Parliament. Assam assembly Secretary and Returning Officer G P Das said the Prime Minister was declared elected unopposed from one of two Rajya Sabha seats in the state as the third contestant, independant candidate Matang Sinh, withdrew from the race. "It is only due to my respect for the Prime Minister that I am withdrawing from the race," Singh, a former Union minister, said. Singh and AGP's Kumar Deepak Das, the only two candidates in the fray, were declared elected unopposed much before the scheduled date for the polls of May 24. In his illustrious political career, Singh became Assam's representative to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1991. He has been elected to the House of elders from the state ever since. During this period, he was the Union finance minister from 1991 to 1996 and ushered in economic reforms and liberalisation. Singh became Prime Minister after Congress President Sonia Gandhi refused the post in 2004. Kumar Deepak Das, the nominee of the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad and a former minister, earned his maiden entry to the Upper House. Meanwhile, in a telephonic conversation with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi , Prime Minister has expressed his gratitude to the people of Assam and the member of Assam Legislative assembly for electing him consecutively for the fourth time
