Raipur, Aug 4 - Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of Chhattisgarh Nand Kumar Sai was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha late Monday for the lone vacant seat for the upper house from the state.

State assembly secretary Devendra Verma, who was also the returning officer for the polls, declared the veteran tribal leader elected unopposed as there were no other contestants for it.

The Rajya Sabha berth fell vacant following the resignation of BJP leader Dilip Singh Judeo, who was elected to Lok Sabha from the Bilaspur parliamentary constituency in the elections in May.

The 63-year-old Sai, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Sarguja constituency in 2004, was denied the party ticket for this years general elections, allowing political pundits to predict the end of his about three-decade active political career.