Congress Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination rejected

The Returning Officer rejected the Congress candidate's nomination after a BJP objection alleging non-disclosure of a Telangana court matter in her affidavit

In a high-voltage drama, the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh. An official of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly provided this information. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had objected to her nomination, alleging that she concealed information about a pending matter in a Telangana court in her affidavit.

 

On behalf of the BJP, advocate Sanket Gupta submitted a complaint to the Returning Officer, stating that according to Supreme Court and Election Commission guidelines, candidates are required to disclose details of cases registered against them. He termed it a case of concealment of facts and demanded cancellation of the nomination.

 

 

Meanwhile, Congress leader of Opposition Umang Singhar dismissed the BJP’s objection as baseless, saying no criminal case had been registered against Meenakshi Natarajan and that she had only received a court notice. Singhar argued that Election Commission rules require disclosure only of registered criminal cases, whereas Natarajan had merely received a notice.

 

Earlier, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha wrote on X: “Confusion is being spread about Meenakshi Natarajan ji’s nomination. No criminal case is registered. Only a notice has been issued asking why compensation of Rs 10 crore should not be imposed against her and others. Her lawyer has already replied to this notice. No FIR has been registered.”

 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Congress had begun shifting its MLAs from Madhya Pradesh to Bengaluru, where they will stay at a resort. At Bhopal airport, a dispute arose when officials initially did not allow the Congress MLAs’ plane to take off. Permission was granted later.