Congress old-timers who have long been out of Parliament will soon make their way back in, thanks to the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. On Wednesday, the party released its list of candidates for the 10 seats that it is expected to win in the biennial elections to the Upper House, scheduled for February 27. The Election Commission has scheduled elections for 56 seats in 15 States, including Uttar Pradesh.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer Ajay Maken, who had narrowly lost the last round of Rajya Sabha elections from Haryana, has now been fielded from Karnataka. Known to be close to senior leader Rahul Gandhi, he is said to have been accommodated from Karnataka despite the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s reservations against fielding “outsiders”. Mr. Maken will be back in Parliament after a decade.
The Delhi Congress leader was appointed treasurer in October last year, after spending several months in the woods following his resignation as party general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan.
Kamal Nath ignored
The other two Karnataka nominees are, however, from the State. Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain, who is part of the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s office, has been renominated. A former JNU Students’ Union president, Mr. Hussain was suspended thrice during his last Rajya Sabha stint, for protesting against the Narendra Modi-led government on various issues. Another sitting MP to get a renomination is G.C. Chandrashekhar.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the Congress can win one of five vacancies, the party has ignored the claims of former State Congress chief Kamal Nath and instead fielded Ashok Singh, an other backward class (OBC) leader from Gwalior, and a known Jyotiraditya Scindia baiter. He is also considered close to former State Chief Minister and sitting Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh.
Mr. Nath’s recent meeting with Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Delhi had fuelled speculation that he was looking for an RS berth.
Singhvi snags Himachal seat
In Telangana, the party has nominated another Gandhi family loyalist and former Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury, along with M. Anil Kumar Yadav.
In Himachal Pradesh, the party has fielded Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is retiring in April. He was earlier elected from West Bengal, with support from Trinamool Congress. Mr. Singhvi, who handles most of the legal issues of the party and the top leadership, notably the Gandhis, was chosen over former Union Minister Anand Sharma, a party veteran from the State. It is the first time since 1952 that someone from outside Himachal Pradesh has been nominated to represent it in the Upper House. A section of the party pointed out that Mr. Singhvi had represented a litigant in the Himachal Pradesh High Court against the Congress government’s decision to impose a water cess on power and energy companies last year.
Bihar seat depends on RJD
In Bihar, where the party has only 19 MLAs in the State Assembly and will depend on their senior ally the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s benevolence to win a seat, the Congress has fielded its State president Akhilesh Prasad Singh.
In Maharashtra, the party has fielded Dalit leader Chandrakant Handore from Mumbai.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Gandhi filed her own nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan. MP Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and State party president Govind Singh Dotasra were also present.
