New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday announced its list of seven candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge set to seek re-election from Karnataka and senior spokesperson Pawan Khera in line for his parliamentary debut.
The party has fielded three candidates from Karnataka — Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera and Mansoor Ali Khan — reflecting the Congress’s strong position in the state assembly, where it is expected to secure all three seats comfortably.
In Madhya Pradesh, Congress has nominated Meenakshi Natarajan, a close associate of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and a former Lok Sabha MP from Mandsaur. Her nomination is being viewed as a significant political comeback after more than a decade.
The party has retained Neeraj Dangi from Rajasthan, nominating him for a second term in the Upper House. From Jharkhand, Congress has fielded Pranav Jha, while Praveen Chakravarty, who heads the party’s data and analytics department, has been nominated from Tamil Nadu.
Political observers see the list as a blend of experience, organisational loyalty and strategic positioning ahead of crucial parliamentary sessions. Kharge’s renomination ensures the Congress president remains in the Rajya Sabha, while Khera’s candidature rewards one of the party’s most visible public faces. Meenakshi Natarajan’s return and Chakravarty’s elevation are also being viewed as signals of Rahul Gandhi’s influence in shaping the party’s parliamentary team.
Rajya Sabha elections for the vacant seats across multiple states are scheduled to be held on June 18, with nominations closing on June 8.
