The Congress Party has announced six candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections, re-nominating two existing members and fielding several new faces from different states.
The party re-nominated legislators Abhishek Singhvi and Phulu Devi Netam, and appointed Kangra district unit chief Anurag Sharma as its candidate for Himachal Pradesh.
Singhvi has been nominated from Telangana, while Netam will contest from Chhattisgarh.
The decision to appoint a young leader from Himachal Pradesh carries significance as the Congress party has once again snubbed veteran leader Anand Sharma – former Union minister and former deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha.
Ironically, Anand Sharma was the Congress candidate for the Kangra seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The party also nominated Christopher Tilak, a Christian leader and AICC secretary, from Tamil Nadu ahead of the Assembly elections in the southern state.
In Haryana, Congress nominated Karamveer Singh Buddh, a Scheduled Caste leader.
According to a senior leader, “The selection of Karamveer Singh Bode reflects the party’s attempt to balance all sections of the party. Bode is a loyalist of Kumari Shailja, a known opponent of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. While Hooda became the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, Bode was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha berth.”
For the sixth seat, the party nominated Vem Narender Reddy from Telangana.
