Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a five-term Lok Sabha member, will contest the February 27 Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan, the party announced on Wednesday as it named four candidates. She is set to get her first term in the Upper House as the Congress has sufficient votes to get her elected.

The Congress said Abhishek Singhvi will contest Rajya Sabha polls from Himachal Pradesh, Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar and Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra. Singhvi is expected to easily win the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress is in power. He was last elected from West Bengal with the support of the Trinamool Congress. Congress has since been left with no lawmakers in the West Bengal assembly.

Singh would require support from Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left to secure his seat. Handore is expected to face a tough contest if more Congress lawmakers quit the party following former chief minister Ashok Chavan’s defection to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Congress is set to win 11 seats in the latest round of biennial elections to 56 Rajya Sabha seats. The last date for filing nominations is February 15.

Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, and Rajasthan were among the state Congress units that urged Sonia Gandhi to contest from their states. A leader considered close to the Gandhi family said that she preferred a seat from north India. Four key Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and Jairam Ramesh represent south India.

Sonia Gandhi was first elected to Parliament from Amethi and Bellary (Karnataka) in 1999. She retained the Amethi seat. In 2004, she shifted to Rae Bareli as Rahul Gandhi contested from Amethi. Sonia Gandhi has hardly been able to visit her constituency of late.

The Congress, which is yet to name Rajya Sabha candidates from Karnataka and Telangana, is expected to gain one seat in the latest round of polls. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is expected to improve its tally by two seats from the current position.