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Singhvi, Himachal district chief among Congress picks
The Congress has announced its six candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, renominating Abhishek Singhvi and Phulo Devi Netam, while fielding a district unit chief for the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh
New Delhi: The Congress has announced its six candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, renominating Abhishek Singhvi and Phulo Devi Netam, while fielding a district unit chief for the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh.
Thursday was the last day to file nominations for the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls.
Singhvi, one of the key legal experts of the Congress, who had earlier chaired parliamentary panels on home, law and commerce, has been nominated from Telangana. Netam, a top-ranking Congress leader from Chhattisgarh, had survived a major Maoist attack in 2013 in which over 20 party leaders were killed.
In line with senior party leader Rahul Gandhi’s emphasis on empowering district unit leaders, the Congress has fielded Kangra district unit president Anurag Sharma for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh.
The party list, published by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, ignored senior leader and former Union minister Anand Sharma for another term. Sharma had unsuccessfully contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Kangra seat.
On not being nominated, Anand Sharma told news agency ANI: “I will not say that I am disappointed, but I will say one thing: self-respect is very expensive in politics. One has to pay the price for it, and speaking the truth is now considered a crime.”
Sharma said the answer to why he was not nominated could only be given by those who took the decision. “It has been a privilege to represent the state and the country for decades. I will always be with the people of Himachal Pradesh... I will not take this matter to the high command,” he added.
The Congress has also nominated Christopher Tilak, a Christian leader and AICC secretary, from Tamil Nadu.
In Haryana, the Congress has nominated Karamvir Singh Boudh, a Schedule Caste leader. “The choice of Karamvir Singh Boudh reflects the party’s attempt to balance all sections of the party. Boudh is a loyalist of Kumari Selja, a known adversary of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. While Hooda has been made the leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, Boudh has been rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth,” a senior party leader said.
Besides Singhvi, the Congress has also nominated Vem Narender Reddy from Telangana.
