The race for the third Rajya Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh on June 18 appears to have started early, albeit amid major controversy, after Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s form was rejected based on a complaint filed by BJP candidate Mahesh Kivat.
Looking at the numbers, Getting the third seat for Madhya Pradesh looked like an easy win for the Congress in the upcoming elections. Then the surprise candidate from the BJP upended the entire election. However, by the end of Tuesday, Kivat appeared to have cleared the field.
Read also | A huge controversy after the rejection of the nomination of Congress Party candidate Meenakshi Natarajan for the Revolutionary Socialist Party in Madhya Pradesh
Who is Meenakshi Natarajan?
Close assistant of Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan has long been part of the party’s organizational setup. She earlier served as the President of the Youth Congress and also served as the General Secretary of the Congress.
She completed her master’s degree in biochemistry in 1994 from Devi Ahilya University, Indore, and later obtained her LLB in 2002 from the same place, according to MyNeta data. She is a former Lok Sabha member from Mandsaur from 2009 to 2014.
Rejection due to alleged disclosure issue
According to a House official who spoke to news agency PTI, Natarajan’s nomination was rejected by the returning officer on the grounds of alleged non-disclosure of information relating to a case in her affidavit.
The complaint was filed by BJP candidate Mahesh Kivat. His legal representative told reporters that a criminal case was pending against Natarajan in a Telangana court and was not disclosed in the nomination papers.
The lawyer also claimed that the returning employee found multiple deficiencies in the form and rejected the nomination on that basis, according to PTI.
Read also | Who is Meenakshi Natarajan? Rahul Gandhi’s OG team member is in the middle of the RS nomination line
Congress demands “Chauri seat”
Congress strongly denied these accusations and described the rejection as politically motivated. She said that there was only a notice issued to her in Telangana.
Natarajan alleged that the BJP was “hiding democracy and the Constitution” and claimed that what began with ““Churri (theft) vote” turned into “Churri seat”. She said the controversy started when the BJP fielded a third candidate despite insufficient numbers, and accused the party of trying to undermine a united opposition.
She said the legal objections and arguments presented by their lawyers were not properly heard before the decision was made.
“We will challenge this,” she added.
Congressional leaders KC Venugopal, Sachin Pilot and Jairam Ramesh have reached the Delhi Election Commission to file a complaint against the rejection.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal strongly criticized the decision, calling it an attack on democracy and accused the BJP of trying to manipulate the result.
“Alleging any wrongdoing or not disclosing her candidacy is complete nonsense and a desperate attempt to snatch a seat from the INC,” he said. “They stooped so low that they rejected her candidacy when they realized that their dirty tricks to reach a settlement with the multilateral trade agreements of our INC would fail,” he said.
Venugopal also said the BJP has “no commitment to the Constitution” and accused it of “Korean vote” politics, adding that the Congress will fight the matter legally and politically.
Congress says there is no case, calls the rejection invalid
Madhya Pradesh Congress in-charge Harish Chaudhary said no criminal case has been registered against Natarajan, according to PTI. He said she had only received incidental notice, which did not require disclosure in the nomination affidavit.
He also said that European Commission rules require disclosure only when the case is formally filed, not at the notification stage, so the refusal is invalid.
Read also | The surprise BJP candidate has turned the Rajya Sabha race in Madhya Pradesh into a thriller
Madhya Pradesh elections 2026
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has a strong majority in the 230-member assembly, is already comfortable getting two seats. Rajya Sabha seats. They then nominated Mahesh Kivat, who heads the state Fishermen’s Welfare Board, as the third candidate against Natarajan.
Besides him, senior leaders Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal are also contesting for the party.
Congress is trying to show unity
Within the Congress camp, the party was holding legislative meetings in Bhopal and bringing together leaders from various factions to show unity behind Meenakshi Natarajan before rejecting her demand.
Senior leaders including Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, state Congress president Jitu Patwari, and Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar all publicly supported her candidacy.
Despite this, not everyone in the party seems completely at ease. The first public sign of unease came from Congress leader Naresh Gyanchandani, who questioned the decision to appoint Natarajan over a more experienced veteran leader. He also warned that the choice may open the door to cross-voting in the elections.
After Natarajan filed her nomination, Gyanchandani resigned from the party, HT reported earlier. He later said that his resignation came after the state leadership did not accept his concerns, which he expressed through a social media post addressed to Rahul Gandhi. He added that he served the party for 37 years and felt marginalized.
The numbers game is still tight but not comfortable
The Congress currently has 61 members in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, while the BJP holds 163 seats in the 230-member assembly. Under the proportional representation system, a candidate needs 58 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat.
While the BJP is in a comfortable position to bag two seats, the third seat remains sensitive for both sides.
To prevent last-minute surprises, the Congress had earlier arranged a charter flight for its members to move to Karnataka, a Congress-ruled state, until the June 18 elections. Party leaders claimed that the BJP called some MLAs with “bags full of money” before voting. The MLAs returned from the stand after Natarajan’s nomination was cancelled.
(With inputs from HT’s Shruti Tomar)
