Hunt for RS seats

With the Rajya Sabha terms of various ministers coming to an end, the government is scrambling to find new seats for them. In April, Defence Minister AK Antony and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma’s terms come to an end. While Antony will have little problem getting re-elected by the Kerala Assembly, Sharma may have to be accommodated from some other state. Sports Minister MS Gill’s term comes to an end in July, as does Culture Minister Ambika Soni’s. Since the Congress party can only pick one member from Punjab, one of them may have to be sacrificed — with the Commonwealth Games ahead of us, it is doubtful the Congress party would want to axe Gill.

Among the other notable members who are unlikely to return are BJP’s Arun Shourie, Samajwadi Party’s Jaya Bachchan, Congress paty’s RK Dhawan and Mohsina Kidwai. Also retiring are the high-profile Rahul Bajaj and BJP Spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Rudy, however, is likely to be re-elected from his home state of Bihar.