In a boost to the claims of two Congress candidates, the Election Commission on Tuesday directed the returning officer of the Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh to consider afresh rejected nomination papers for scrutiny on Wednesday and take a final decision.
Acting on the complaints of candidates Harendra Agarwal and M M Shukla that their nomination papers were "unconstitutionally and unlawfully" rejected on Saturday, the three-member commission said in its order that the RO consider all "relevant matters with due and deliberate care and pass such appropriate order in his quasi-judicial capacity as he may deem fit".
A Congress delegation met the EC on Monday and complained that the RO had rejected the papers of its candidates under pressure from the state government run by the Samajwadi Party-led coalition.