Rajya Sabha elections: Congress fields Sonia Gandhi, Singhvi in first list

The Congress has released the names of four candidates, one each for Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Bihar, for Rajya Sabha biennial elections, slated for Feb 27

The Congress party has officially released its first list of candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections, hours after leader Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination papers in Rajasthan. Congress has fielded Sonia Gandhi in Rajasthan, Abhishek Manu Singhvi for Himachal Pradesh, and Chandrakant Handore for Maharashtra. Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh has been renominated for Bihar.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who currently represents West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha, will be contesting the seat held by BJP National President J P Nadda for Himachal Pradesh, which is a stronghold for the ruling party. The BJP currently holds all three seats in Himachal Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha.

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Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has filed her nomination for Rajya Sabha elections in Rajasthan, where BJP is fielding Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore.

The Rajya Sabha comprises 239 members. The BJP currently holds the largest share of 93 seats, followed by the Congress party with 30 seats. 58 Rajya Sabha members, including eight Union ministers, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP National President JP Nadda, will be retiring by the first week of May 2024.

Among those retiring, 28 are from the BJP, 11 from the Congress, four from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), two each from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal (United) (JDU), and one each from the YSRCP, the Shiv Sena, the NCP, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and Sikkim Democratic Front.

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The Rajya Sabha biennial elections are scheduled for February 27, 2024.

(With agency inputs)