Earlier in the day, former Congress president and parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state party president Govind Singh Dotasra were present during her nomination filing.

Congress announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha Biennial elections today.

According to an official release from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), “Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Sonia Gandhi from Rajasthan and Dr. Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar.”

Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been fielded from Himachal Pradesh and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra.

On Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its list of Rajya Sabha candidates for 14 seats, which include former Congress minister RPN Singh and six others for Uttar Pradesh, and a mix of leaders from other states, aimed at balancing caste equations and boosting organisational morale and strength.

A total of 56 members of Rajya Sabha from 15 states are retiring in April and the election to the seats will be held on February 27. The voting will take place from 9 am to 4 pm. The last date for filing nominations is February 15. The results of the elections will be announced on the same day, February 27.

The term for Rajya Sabha MPs is six years, and elections are held every two years for 33% of the seats. Currently, the Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245 members.

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Published: 14 Feb 2024, 08:37 PM IST