The Congress party on Wednesday nominated party leaders Ajay Maken, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, and GC Chandrashekhar from Karnataka; Ashok Singh from Madhya Pradesh; Renuka Chowdhury and M Anil Kumar Yadav from Telangana.
A total of 56 Rajya Sabha members from 15 states will retire in April, with elections scheduled for February 27. The deadline for filing nominations is February 15.
Earlier in the day, former Congress President and parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election in Rajasthan. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, and state party president Govind Singh Dotasra were all present at her nomination filing.
Today, the Congress released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial elections.
According to an official press release from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), "Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Sonia Gandhi from Rajasthan and Dr. Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar."
Abhishek Manu Singhvi is from Himachal Pradesh, while Chandrakant Handore is from Maharashtra.
Gandhi, who represented Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha, will not run in the next general election. She has been a Lok Sabha MP for five terms, first elected in 1999 after taking over as Congress president.
After Sonia Gandhi chose not to run this time, speculation is rampant that her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will run from the Raebareli Lok Sabha constituency.
According to the PTI report, Priyanka Gandhi may be considered for the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, which was previously held by Rahul Gandhi, but the party leadership has yet to make a final decision on whether she will contest the Lok Sabha election.
The BJP released its list of Rajya Sabha candidates for 14 seats on Sunday, including former Congress minister RPN Singh and six others from Uttar Pradesh, as well as a mix of leaders from other states, to balance caste equations and boost organisational morale and strength.
A total of 56 Rajya Sabha members from 15 states will retire in April, with elections scheduled for February 27. The voting will take place from 9 AM to 4 PM. The deadline for filing nominations is February 15. The election results will be announced on the same day, February 27.
The term of Rajya Sabha MPs is six years, with elections held every two years for 33% of the seats. Currently, the Rajya Sabha consists of 245 members.