Cong renominates Soni, Oscar in RS

The Congress on Friday continued with the trend of renominating most of its Rajya Sabha retirees but in a move that the Shiv Sena and the MNS could exploit politically, both its nominees in Maharashtra — like those of the NCP — are non-Marathi speaking.

The Congress on Friday continued with the trend of renominating most of its Rajya Sabha retirees but in a move that the Shiv Sena and the MNS could exploit politically, both its nominees in Maharashtra — like those of the NCP — are non-Marathi speaking.

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The party also glossed over the fact that these two nominees, Vijay Darda (who has been renominated) and AICC secretary Avinash Pande (who contested unsuccessfully against industrialist Rahul Bajaj two years back), hail from the same region, Vidarbha.

Among the Union Ministers, Ambika Soni was, as expected, renominated from her home state Punjab.

According to Friday's list, senior leader Oscar Fernandes is set to represent Karnataka again. But B.K. Hari Prasad’s candidature for the second seat hit a wall with H.D. Deve Gowda’s JD-S opposing it. With 30 surplus votes, the Congress needs another 16 for its second nominee. But the JD-S, with 27 votes, wanted a quid pro quo that reportedly included a cabinet berth for Gowda’s son Kumaraswamy. The deadlock continues.

The Congress also renominated senior leader Mohsina Kidwai from Chhattigarh raising speculation of her induction in the Cabinet.

Other nominees include Dhiraj Prasad Sahoo (Jharkhand) and EMS Natchiappan (Tamil Nadu). Commerce Minister Anand Sharma's candidature is yet to be announced.