Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) on Sunday named Tourism Minister K. J. Alphons as candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-election in Rajasthan, slated to be held on November 16.
The bypoll was necessitated after M. Venkaiah Naidu vacated the seat to become the vice president.
K. J. Alphons was appointed independent charge for the Ministry for Electronics and Information Technology, Culture, and Tourism under BJP government, in the last cabinet rejig on September 3.
A practicing advocate in the High court of Kerała at Kochi, and the Supreme Court of India, Alphons has also served as an IAS officer for 27 years.
He shot to prominence as the Commissioner of Delhi Development Authority, when he demolished illegal buildings and reclaimed land worth more than Rs. 10,000 crore, earning the title of 'Demolition Man'.
Rajasthan has 10 seats in the 245-member upper house.