Jostling For Rajya Sabha Seats Begins In Congress Ahead Of March 16 Polls

New Delhi: Jostling for the coming Rajya Sabha polls has started within the Congress, with several veterans as well as the younger faces becoming hopeful of a nomination. Elections for 37 Rajya Sabha seats will take place on March 16, 2026. The last date of nomination is March 5, 2026.

According to party insiders, the Congress, which has 27 members, can win five seats easily, one each from Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and two from Telangana on its own strength as it has the required number of MLAs there who will vote in the Rajya Sabha election.

The Congress may also get one seat from Tamil Nadu with the support of the regional major Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). In Maharashtra, the opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) together, can also get one Rajya Sabha seat.

The four Congress Rajya Sabha members whose terms are coming to an end in April are Abhishek Manu Singhvi, KTS Tulsi, Phulo Devi Netam and Rajani Patil. Among the four, Singhvi, a Supreme Court advocate and Congress Working Committee member, is most likely to get a nomination again as he represents the party in several key cases and is also a senior spokesperson.

Singhvi’s current term began on August 28, 2024 and is scheduled to end on April 9, 2026. He was elected unopposed from Telangana following the resignation of K Keshava Rao. Before that, the Congress had tried to send Singhvi to the upper house from Himachal Pradesh, but he lost the poll following a tie that resulted due to cross-voting by some party lawmakers.

That is the reason the Congress managers are looking at fielding a local face for the one seat it can get from Himachal Pradesh. Former Union minister Anand Sharma and former state unit chief Pratibha Singh could get a chance from the Congress-ruled hill-state, said the party insiders.

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress managers face a tough choice whether to repeat Tribal leader Phulo Devi Netam or choose between former Chief Minister and Other Backwards Classes (OBC) leader Bhupesh Baghel, state unit chief Deepal Baij or former Deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo.

For the one seat the Congress can get from Haryana, the names of several leaders are doing the rounds, including All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionary Jitendra Singh, media head Pawan Khera, social media head Supriya Shrinate and veteran Raj Babbar, who is considered close to Congress Legislative party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Khera and Shrinate regularly defend the party and attack the Narendra Modi government over various issues, while Singh is in charge of Assam.

For the second seat in Telangana, the Congress may field the INDIA bloc's presidential candidate, former justice B Sudarshan Reddy. If that does not work out, Justice Reddy may be sent to the house from Tamil Nadu, and a member from the minority community or veteran Hanumanta Rao may be chosen from Telangana, said the insiders. There has also been some discussion over the likely candidature of AICC functionary Praveen Chakravarthy, but the DMK may not back him as he had targeted the Tamil Nadu government over alliance issues.

"These are very important elections. Consultations are taking place. The high command will soon finalise the names," AICC secretary in charge of Telangana Rohit Chaudhary told ETV Bharat.

In Maharashtra, there has been speculation that NCP-SP veteran Sharad Pawar is keen on a Rajya Sabha nomination, but the Congress wants clarity if he plans to merge his party with NCP, headed till recently by his rebel nephew and late deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. The Sena UBT, too, is keen to send its leader to the upper house. A meeting of the MVA will be held soon to finalise the name, the Congress insiders said. If there is no agreement on the candidate, the Congress may like to repeat veteran Rajani Patil.

"There are claims from all sides. There will be consultations within the MVA, and then our high command will take a final call in the matter," AICC secretary in charge of Maharashtra UB Venkatesh said.

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