Congress on Thursday declared 12 candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections young leaders Rajiv Satav and Deepender Hooda making the cut edging out veterans, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra opting out of the race citing commitments in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress has fielded General Secretary K C Venugopal from Rajasthan, Satav from Maharashtra and senior counsel K T S Tulsi from Chhattisgarh – threee leaders considered as close to Rahul Gandhi.
However, the veterans within the Congress ensured their stamp of the nominees with senior leader Digvijaya Singh getting the first preference nomination from Madhya Pradesh and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda ensuring a berth for his son Deepender, edging out state unit chief Kumari Selja.
Congress has fielded Phool Singh Baraiya from Madhya Pradesh, forcing a contest for the third seat in the state with BJP nominee Sumer Singh Solanki.
Besides Tulsi, Congress has fielded Phoolo Devi Netam from Chhattisgarh, marking an end to the long Parliamentary career of nonagenarian Motilal Vora.
Congress has fielded Shaktisinh Gohil, a close associate of AICC Treasurer Ahmed Patel, and former union minister Bharatsinh Solanki from Gujarat. Former Union Minister Rajiv Shukla was keen on a nomination from Gujarat, but had to bow out after running into opposition from local leaders against fielding outsiders.
In Rajasthan, Conrgess has fielded Neeraj Dangi, while Kennedy Cornelius Khyriem will be the party candidate from Meghalaya.
In Maharashtra, Congress preferred Satav over senior leaders Mukul Wasnik, Avinash Pandey and Rajani Patil.