According to sources, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to submit her nomination for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections tomorrow. The decision regarding the state from which she will contest in the upper house of Parliament is expected to be finalized tonight.
Sonia Gandhi, who served as Congress president for nearly 22 years from 1998 to 2022, has been elected as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha on five occasions. Sources indicate that her son, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will accompany her when she files her nomination.
The final determination of the state from which she will contest is anticipated to be made by tonight, with Rajasthan being a leading choice among several state units offering nominations. This inclination towards Rajasthan is in light of a vacant seat in the state resulting from the retirement of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
It’s worth noting that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was also a member of the Rajya Sabha. Sonia Gandhi, who currently chairs the Congress Parliamentary Party, has consecutively been elected to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
This move to contest the Rajya Sabha elections precedes the Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May this year. The Congress party is yet to announce candidates for the biennial elections for 56 seats from 15 states, with the deadline for filing nominations set for February 15.
The Election Commission has already released the schedule for the biennial poll for the 56 Rajya Sabha seats, with voting scheduled for February 27.
