Top leaders in race as Congress might get 11 Rajya Sabha seats, enhance its place in Upper House 

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress is more likely to get 11 Rajya Sabha seats within the upcoming election cycle with a few of its prime leaders, together with P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, eyeing one other time period.

This may also assist Congress strengthen its get together place within the Upper House of Parliament from the present 29 to 33 members.

Some different prime Congress leaders, together with Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken and Rajeev Shukla, are ready within the wings to get a Rajya Sabha nomination.

Of the 55 vacancies arising within the Rajya Sabha within the subsequent two months, seven Congress members — Chidambaram (Maharashtra), Ramesh (Karnataka), Ambika Soni (Punjab), Vivek Tankha (Madhya Pradesh), Pradeep Tamta (Uttarakhand), Kapil Sibal (Uttar Pradesh) and Chhaya Verma (Chhattisgarh) — will likely be finishing their phrases.

The Congress will likely be gaining three to 4 seats within the Upper House if it manages to get all of the three seats which are falling vacant in Rajasthan.

While the get together will get two seats in Chhattisgarh, the place it’s in energy, it’ll get one seat every in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the place it shares energy with different like-minded events.

The Congress can also be more likely to get one seat every in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka on the energy of its MLAs in these states.

Sources mentioned whereas Chidambaram and Ramesh are hopeful that the get together management would give a nod to them for an additional time period, there are a number of different leaders who’re ready for a Rajya Sabha berth for a while now.

Chidambaram is eyeing the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu.

He has already met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Okay Stalin.

However, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s workforce is pushing for a younger face in Praveen Chakravarty, the top of the get together’s Data Analytics division, for the seat.

Three-time Rajya Sabha member Ramesh will get a fourth time period if his identify is cleared for the lone seat in Karnataka, from the place Surjewala can also be a contender.

In Haryana, Surjewala, Kumari Selja and Kuldeep Bishnoi are vying for the lone seat, however former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is pushing for the nomination of Anand Sharma.

The former Union minister is a distinguished member of the “Group of 23” and is taken into account near Hooda, who can also be a member of the grouping.

Sources mentioned Kapil Sibal was supplied a Rajya Sabha berth by ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), however the Congress management was not prepared.

Sibal give up the Congress on Wednesday and obtained a Rajya Sabha nomination from Uttar Pradesh as an Independent with the assist of the Samajwadi Party (SP).

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress has two seats and Shukla is vying for an additional time period from the state.

The Congress will certainly get two seats from Rajasthan and can also get one other seat with the assist of some MLAs.

Maken and Azad are mentioned to be robust contenders for the seats.

In Maharashtra, the place the get together shares energy within the Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities, it could get one Rajya Sabha seat, and Wasnik and Avinash Pande are within the race for it.

The race can also be between the previous guard within the Congress and the younger leaders, who’re eager to get a Rajya Sabha nomination, maintaining in view the get together’s push for the youth.

However, this may increasingly not occur instantly because the “50 below 50” method won’t be relevant within the present Rajya Sabha nominations, the sources mentioned.