Congress expected to nominate Priyanka from Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi to contest Rajya Sabha elections
The Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled for February 27, and the deadline for filling out nomination forms is February 15
As per multiple media reports, Sonia Gandhi, the former president of the Indian National Congress, is likely to contest the Rajya Sabha election. If elected, this will be her first term in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament of India, after serving five terms as a lawmaker in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament.
Her expected Rajya Sabha candidature will make way for her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi, to contest in the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli, a constituency in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is considered the traditional stronghold of the Gandhi family.
The Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled for February 27, and the deadline for filling out nomination forms is February 15. While NDTV reported that Sonia Gandhi is expected to contest the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan, Press Trust of India reported that she will contest from Himachal Pradesh. However, an official announcement in this regard has not been made yet.
The Congress party is yet to name its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in several states, including Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Congress leaders from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have urged Sonia Gandhi to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from their states. The state unit president of Madhya Pradesh, Jitu Patwari, was quoted in the media as saying that they would be happy if Sonia Gandhi contests the election from their state. Patwari also said that if veteran party leader Kamal Nath decides to contest the election, the state unit would support him.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Tika Ram Jully, urged Gandhi to contest Rajya Sabha elections 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,” he said, as quoted by Mint.
If Sonia Gandhi contests the Rajya Sabha election, it will undoubtedly be a significant development in Indian politics, as she is considered the most influential leader of the Congress party. Her entry into the Rajya Sabha will also give a boost to the Congress party, which has been struggling to revive its fortunes in recent years.
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