Congress RS list brings surprises, drops veterans

NEW DELHI: The Indian National Congress released the names of its candidates for the Rajya Sabha on March 5, repeating two candidates and introducing four new faces, a move that surprised many leaders who had expected their names to be included in the list.

The party nominated Abhishek Manu Singhvi from Telangana and Phulo Devi Netam from Chhattisgarh.

The party also introduced four new faces—Karamvir Singh Boudh from Haryana, Christopher Tilak from Tamil Nadu, Anurag Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, and Vem Narender Reddy from Telangana.

Party sources said many seasoned and veteran leaders had been eyeing a berth in the Rajya Sabha. These included former Union minister Anand Sharma, the party's media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera, and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, among others.

However, party insiders said the leadership took the decision after considering its long-term strategy of promoting new leaders who could become the face of the party in the coming years.

Anand Sharma, who was expected to be fielded from Himachal Pradesh, was reportedly assured of a nomination from the hill state but his name was dropped at the last moment.

Sources said that despite Anand Sharma’s close proximity to Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, he lost the race to Anurag Sharma, a district Congress chief from Kangra. Anurag Sharma had been appointed District Congress chief only months ago under the party’s organisational initiative Sangathan Srijan.

Party insiders said Anand Sharma was in Shimla on March 5 hoping to be fielded by the party but his name was dropped from the list at the last moment.

Speaking to the media in Shimla, Anand Sharma said that self-respect is very expensive in politics and that speaking the truth is now considered a crime.

"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," he said.

He added that why he was not sent to the Rajya Sabha and why there was a last-minute withdrawal could only be explained by those who made the decisions and those on whose advice such decisions were taken. He said he was not in a position to comment further on the matter.

Similarly, Pawan Khera was also hoping to get his name included in the list. He had been expecting a chance from Haryana, while during his visit to Tamil Nadu his name was also being discussed from the southern state. However, Khera lost out to Tilak as well as Boudh in the race. A similar situation occurred in the case of Supriya Shrinate, whose name had also been doing the rounds for a Rajya Sabha berth but was ultimately not included in the list. The long list of aspirants from Haryana included leaders such as Raj Babbar, Pawan Khera, Supriya Shrinate, Rao Dan Singh, Ashok Tanwar, Rao Narender Singh, Anil Jai Hind, and Ajay Yadav.

Similarly, the candidature of Karamvir Singh Boudh, a relatively lesser-known political figure in Haryana politics and a Scheduled Caste leader, came as a surprise since several prominent leaders were among the contenders.

More importantly, Boudh is seen as a "neutral" leader who does not owe allegiance to either of the two major factions within the state unit. Boudh retired from the Haryana Civil Secretariat four years ago. He has been associated with several agitations concerning Scheduled Caste issues and had come into the spotlight during protests linked to the death of IPS officer Y Puran Singh. Party sources had earlier indicated that since the Rajya Sabha quota was limited, the leadership was considering sending strong speakers to Parliament rather than strictly following social representation formulas involving Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities and women.

However, the final list appeared to focus on a balanced social formula.

Meanwhile, Bhupesh Baghel, who is also the Congress in charge of Punjab, had been lobbying for a Rajya Sabha berth from Chhattisgarh, but the party instead repeated the nomination of Phulo Devi Netam, a tribal woman leader from the mineral-rich state.

Sources indicated that Baghel had met the party leadership for over one and a half hours just days before the list was announced.

In Telangana, Vem Narender Reddy, an adviser to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, won the race against about 15 others, including Vamshi Chand Reddy.

The nomination of Vem Narender Reddy is seen as reflecting the growing clout of Revanth Reddy within the Congress not only at the state level but also nationally. Narender Reddy joined the Congress in 2017 and is considered much junior to many other Congress leaders in the state.

Similarly, Christopher Tilak, who is currently serving as the party secretary in charge of Manipur, Sikkim, Tripura, and Nagaland, and hails from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, has been chosen for the party's sole Rajya Sabha seat under its alliance arrangement with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

The nomination of Tilak by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge surprised many but is being seen as a strategic move to strengthen the party's position in the state by consolidating minority votes and encouraging younger leadership.

Sources said Tilak belongs to the Christian Dalit community and has been actively associated with the Tamil Nadu Congress for several years. He has worked extensively in organisational and minority outreach roles and has also served as a spokesperson for the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee.

According to party insiders, Tilak's nomination was also a calculated move to gain support among Christian Dalit voters in Tamil Nadu, where they constitute roughly 5.5 to 6.5 percent of the population. Christians are heavily concentrated in key coastal districts, particularly the electorally significant Kanyakumari region.

Sources said Tilak has actively raised issues concerning fishing communities in coastal Christian belts including Chennai, Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, and Madurai, apart from highlighting other minority concerns.

He is also considered a preferred choice of Rahul Gandhi, and sources said he has earned admiration from several senior Congress leaders at the national level for his work in politically sensitive regions, particularly Manipur.

The term of 57 Rajya Sabha members elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana will conclude in April, creating vacancies for new members to be elected.

The last date for filing nominations was March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until March 9.

Polling for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha to fill the 37 seats across 10 states will be held on March 16, with counting of votes scheduled the same day at 5 pm.