Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Jairam Ramesh nominated for RS polls

Former finance minister P Chidambaram is the Congress nominee from Maharashtra for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha while senior leaders Kapil Sibal and Jairam Ramesh have been named from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, respectively.

Others nominated in the polls include Oscar Fernandes from Karnataka, Congress General Secretary Ambika Soni from Punjab, Chaya Verma from Chhattisgarh, Vivek Tankha from Madhya Pradesh and Pradeep Tamta from Uttarakhand.

The decision was taken by party President Sonia Gandhi.

70-year-old Chidambaram did not contest the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and his son Karti had unsuccessfully fought from his native Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu.

One nomination from Karnataka has been left to the party general secretary and PCC chief and CLP leader to decide.

The entry of Chidambaram and Sibal in the Rajya Sabha and renomination of Ramesh would strengthen the party's attack on the government in the Upper House where the NDA lacks a majority.

Former Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and former party MP Bhalchandra Mungekar were among a large number of party leaders lobbying for the lone seat from Maharashtra. AICC secretary Avinash Pandey is the retiring member from the state.

Tankha is a senior advocate and Tamta is a known loyalist of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

Renomination of Soni from Punjab was a forgone conclusion in view of the Assembly election in the state next year. She is the chairperson of the campaign committee.

Fernandes, who has been renominated from Karnataka, is on the board of Young Indian Pvt Limited which looks after the National Herald.

Ramesh, as a former rural development minister, had been at the forefront of the attack on the NDA government over the Land Ordinance Bill and against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation scam.