New Delhi: Proximity to the Congress excessive command seems to be the principle criterion within the nomination of the celebration’s Rajya Sabha candidates introduced on Thursday, with celebration president Mallikarjun Kharge himself among the many seven nominees.
Praveen Chakravarty, Chairman of the All India Knowledgeable Council and Head of Information Analytics, was nominated from Tamil Nadu. He’s the largest beneficiary of actor-politician Vijay’s celebration alliance with Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
Mr. Charkavarti had met Mr. Vijay earlier than the Tamil Nadu elections to discover the opportunity of a partnership between the 2 events, however the celebration excessive command opted to work with previous ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
After TVK emerged as the one largest celebration in Tamil Nadu, the Congress shortly severed ties with the DMK and prolonged its help to TVK. Vijay first accepted two of the 5 Congress MLAs into the federal government after which agreed to provide them seats within the Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Chakravarti was a robust acquisition from the Congress-TVK alliance, however his break with the DMK has jeopardized the Congress’ makes an attempt to unify the opposition in Parliament. The DMK has refused to take part within the opposition celebration assembly to be held in New Delhi on June 8.
In distinction, the Bharatiya Janata Occasion’s Rajya Sabha candidates are dominated by leaders who’ve labored for the group for a few years, together with nationwide common secretary Tarun Chugh from Punjab, former Rajasthan Individuals’s Occasion chief Satish Poonia, former Arunachal Individuals’s Occasion chief Tai Tagaq, who has labored for the celebration for the reason that Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) days within the Eighties, and Manipur Individuals’s Occasion chief Sharda. Devi and plenty of district-level leaders in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Voting for twenty-four Rajya Sabha seats (4 every in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, three every in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand and one every in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram) might be held on June 18. The outcomes might be out within the night.
Congress Public Relations Division Chairman Pawan Khera is one other candidate. Khela, greatest often known as one of many celebration’s important spokesmen, spent a number of years within the Youth Congress and rose by way of the ranks of the group. The Congress needs to make use of his aggressiveness in opposition to the Modi authorities in Rajya Sabha.
Khera’s membership within the Congress can be anticipated to assist in the defamation and prison conspiracy case filed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s spouse.
The Congress excessive command opted to appoint Meenakshi Natarajan from Madhya Pradesh, dashing the hopes of veteran Digvijaya Singh, whose time period within the Higher Home ends this month. Natarajan has been a part of the workforce since Rahul Gandhi appointed her as AICC secretary in 2008. She was just lately appointed AICC’s Telangana in-charge.
The reappointment of Rajasthan Congress chief Neeraj Dangi to the Rajya Sabha additionally got here as a shock to many within the celebration. Neeraj had misplaced a number of elections up to now. Neeraj, who’s the son of former Rajasthan minister Dinesh Dangi, obtained help from many veterans.
“Mr. Neeraj misplaced the meeting elections in 2003, 2008 and 2018. However he was despatched to Rajya Sabha in 2020 and now he’s being despatched once more. He’s a really resourceful individual however solely the excessive command is aware of what he did for the celebration,” a former Congress MLA from Rajasthan instructed ThePrint.
Occasion sources say Mr. Neeraj enjoys Mr. Kharge’s belief. AICC secretary Pranav Jha, a detailed aide of the Congress president, has been nominated from Jharkhand. Kharge himself has been renominated as RS from Karnataka.
Political analyst Professor Chandrachud Singh defined how the Rajya Sabha nominations replicate the Congress’s concentrate on the survival of the group moderately than electoral enlargement.
“In lots of states, the grassroots presence of Congress is proscribed, so we have to recruit dependable supporters who may help maintain the group. They need to survive in the long term,” he instructed ThePrint.
“Whereas the celebration has not been in a position to absolutely consolidate the structural benefits it gained in 2024, the Bharatiya Janata Occasion has additional consolidated its hegemonic presence. The celebration faces a troublesome highway to 2029. Maybe that’s the reason Rahul Gandhi has made such a big listing of supporters.”
Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai defined why the Congress’ alternative of candidates displays the celebration management’s choice for dependable organizational figures and supporters, in addition to its disadvantages.
“The celebration does not have many avenues left to accommodate and reward its supporters. The Bharatiya Janata Occasion has quite a lot of energy, quite a lot of presence on the bottom, quite a lot of buildings the place leaders are rewarded. The Congress has restricted avenues. Rajya Sabha is for loyalty,” he instructed ThePrint.
