Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi will file her nomination papers for Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan on February 14, sources said. They said Sonia Gandhi is expected to reach Jaipur tomorrow morning to file her nomination.
Sonia Gandhi, who was Congress president for almost 22 years between 1998 and 2022, is a five-time Lok Sabha MP. Sources said Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary KC Venugopal will accompany Sonia Gandhi when she files her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Party sources said Rajasthan was on “top” in terms of choices for Sonia Gandhi even as some other state units made offers for her to file the nomination. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was last elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, is retiring in April this year.
Sources said a reason for Sonia Gandhi choosing Rajasthan and not opting for states such as Telangana is that the party leadership is not seen as being centered in a region. With party chief Mallikarjun Kharge hailing from Karnataka and Rahul Gandhi representing Wayanad in Kerala in Lok Sabha, the party was apparently keen on a state in the north for Sonia Gandhi.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had also been a member of Rajya Sabha. Sonia Gandhi has been repeatedly elected to Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. The move to file nominations for Rajya Sabha comes ahead of Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May this year.
The Congress is yet to announce candidates for the biennial elections for 56 seats from 15 States. The last date for filing nominations is February 15. The Election Commission last month declared the schedule for the biennial poll for 56 Rajya Sabha seats and voting will take place on February 27.
(with inputs from ANI)
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