Sonia Gandhi is likely to contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, handing her Lok Sabha seat to daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, several media houses have reported citing people familiar with the developments. Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi will contest in the Rajya Sabha polls on 27 February from a North India seat.
According to NDTV, Sonia Gandhi is likely to be nominated from a seat in Rajasthan, and hand over contest the Lok Sabha polls from the family turf of Raebareli.
News agency PTI reported Sonia Gandhi may be nominated by the party for the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh.
If Sonia Gandhi makes the move to Rajya Sabha, handing over Raebareli to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, it would mark the firsts for the two Gandhi women.
In case Sonia Gandhi settles for a Rajya Sabha seat, it would be the first stint in the Upper House for the 77-year-old leader, who is a five-term lawmaker of the Lok Sabha. If Priyanka Gandhi contests the Lok Sabha seats for Raebareli, this would be her first election.
Sonia Gandhi had stated during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls that it was the last time she was contesting in the general elections.
The Congress has to name candidates for election to Rajya Sabha seats from the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Tika Ram Jully urged the high command to announce Sonia Gandhi’s candidature from Rajasthan.
“We have requested the national president and the high command to nominate Sonia Gandhi to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. If she is elected from here, all the Congress workers from the state will be very happy,” the Congress leader said.
Top Congress leaders including Gandhi, the party’s national alliance committee members Mukul Wasnik and Salman Khurshid, and treasurer Ajay Maken met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence to discuss the names of party candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections on February 27. General secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal was also present in the meeting on Monday, Hindustan Times reported.
The Congress is yet to announce any candidate for the biennial elections for 56 seats from 15 states. The last date for filing nominations is February 15 and elections will be held on February 27.
Meanwhile, Congress also claimed that Ashok Chavan, who quit the party on Monday, had met Congress chief Kharge last week and conveyed that there is “tremendous pressure” on him from probe agencies to defect.
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Published: 13 Feb 2024, 07:32 AM IST