Lucknow, June 26: A day after ruling out a review of the nominations of two Congress aspirants, Uttar Pradesh returning officer R.P. Pandey today announced that 11 candidates had been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.

The elected include industrialist Anil Ambani, actor Jaya Bachchan, hotelier Lalit Suri, BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Arun Shourie and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayavati. Jaya is a Samajwadi Party candidate while Ambani and Suri are Independents backed by it.

The announcement comes as a big blow to the Congress’s efforts to force a fight in the elections.