The Congress on Monday announced the nomination of Captain Satish Sharma for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh.
Sharma, who is considered to be close to the Gandhi family, will file his nomination on Wednesday.
The Congress has just 20 legislators in the 403-member UP assembly and needs the support of nine more legislators to get elected in the Legislative Council and 14 more to win a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
The party is already in talks with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh in New Delhi for their support in Sharma’s election.
According to Congress sources in Lucknow, the SP has agreed to give unconditional support to the Congress nominee.
However, the Congress needs the support of RLD too because the SP won’t be of much help in the Legislative Council where SP does not have additional legislators to help the Congress.
The RLD has 10 members in the UP assembly.
The Congress and RLD are believed to have entered into some understanding on the RS polls. But the terms of agreement for the legislative council polls are yet to be finalised. The election to fill 11 RS seats from UP is scheduled for June 17.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress and RLD are believed to have entered into some understanding on the RS polls. But the terms of agreement for the legislative council polls are yet to be finalised. The election to fill 11 RS seats from UP is scheduled for June 17.
{{/usCountry}}Sharma is currently a RS member from Uttarakhand and his term will end on July 4.