Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar took his oath as a Rajya Sabha member on Monday, alongside other MPs elected from West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

A total of 19 leaders, including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, BJP’s Ramrao Wadkute, Manmohan Samal, BJD’s Santrupt Mishra, BJD-Congress backed Dilip Kumar Ray, DMK’s Constandine Ravindran, DMDL’s LK Sudhish, and Congress’ Christopher Manickam, also took their oaths today.

This event marks the return of Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale, and several other leaders who were re-elected after their previous terms ended. After a long tenure in the Lok Sabha, the NCP patriarch was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2014.

The oath was administered by Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha chairman CP Radhakrishnan.

The polling for the biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill 37 seats across 10 states occurred on March 16, with the counting of votes taking place the same day at 5 pm.

The terms of the 37 members elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in April, thereby vacating seats for new members.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar, the incumbent Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief, is set to officially take the oath as a Rajya Sabha MP on April 10, as confirmed by Bihar BJP leader Sanjay Saraogi on Sunday.

The Rajya Sabha polls last month were marked by high-voltage political drama, with protests from JD(U) workers following Nitish Kumar’s exit from state politics, while the Opposition party Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) criticized the BJP.

Additionally, amid cross-voting in Odisha, the BJD suspended six MLAs, and in Haryana, the Congress party alleged irregularities, including cross-voting, as the counting of votes was halted in the state.