Praful Patel takes oath as Rajya Sabha member

New Delhi: NCP leader Praful Patel on Friday took oath as member of the Upper House of Parliament in presence of Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Patel was declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on February 21. His fresh term as Rajya Sabha member began in April this year.

"An immense honor to take the oath as a Rajya Sabha MP today, in the esteemed presence of the honorable Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Ji," Patel said in a post on X.

The NCP leader described the oath-taking ceremony as a "moment filled with solemnity and commitment to serve the nation." This is Patel's sixth term as Rajya Sabha member. He was also elected to the Lok Sabha for four terms.

Patel had quit as member of the Rajya Sabha mid-way through his previous term, which was to end in 2026, in an apparent bid to dodge the disqualification proceedings mounted by the NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar group under Section 2(a) of the Tenth Schedule, which provides for disqualification on grounds of defection.

Patel had joined hands with Ajit Pawar who walked out with a major chunk of the NCP MLAs in July last year. The Election Commission recognised the Ajit Pawar group as the real NCP.