Congress Names Ajay Maken, Renuka Chowdhury, Abhishek Manu Singhvi Among Others For Rajya Sabha Elections

Besides Maken, noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been fielded from Himachal Pradesh and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra.

New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday announced its six candidates from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana for the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on February 27. The grand old party has fielded All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer Ajay Maken from Karnataka. Along with him, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and GC Chandrashekhar will also contest from the southern state. Ashok Singh will contest from Madhya Pradesh, while former MP Renuka Chowdhury and Anil Kumar Yadav has been fielded from Telangana.

Rajya Sabha elections | Congress nominates 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 pic.twitter.com/pBdktRWY1B — ANI (@ANI) February 14, 2024

Earlier today, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan. Party MP Rahul Gandhi, party's general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state party president Govind Singh Dotasra were also present. The grand old party also announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha Biennial elections today.

According to an official 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."

Additionally, Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been fielded from Himachal Pradesh and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra. The term for Rajya Sabha MPs is six years, and elections are held after every two years for 33 per cent of the seats. Currently, the Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245 members.

The Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha elections for 15 states, including Uttar Pradesh, for February 27. Voting will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on this date, with the deadline for nominations set for February 15. The results of the elections will be announced on the same day, February 27.

The Election Commission has announced the biennial Rajya Sabha polls for 56 seats, as the tenure of incumbents ends in April. Out of the total 245 members, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir (w.e.f. 31.10. 2019) and 12 are nominated by the President.