Sonia Gandhi may file her Rajya Sabha nomination today from Rajasthan. Manmohan Singh is set to retire from the seat in April.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi is likely to file her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Rajasthan on Wednesday. News agency ANI reported that Sonia left her residence early in the morning as she will be travelling to Rajasthan today. The Rajya Sabha election is to be held on February 27. On Monday, after a high-level meeting of the party leaders attended by Mallikarjun Kharge, Mukul Wasnik, Ajay Maken, Salman Khurshid, KC Venugopal, it was indicated that Sonia Gandhi may shift to the upper house leaving the poll fray for the first time.
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Sonia Gandhi, who was Congress president for almost 22 years between 1998 and 2022, is a five-time Lok Sabha MP.
Sonai Gandhi was elected from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi and Karnataka’s Bellary in 1999 and she retained Amethi among the two. In 2004, Sonia Gandhi contested from Rae Bareli vacating Amethi for Rahul Gandhi.
According to reports, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge will also be present when she files the nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections. The last date for the nomination is February 15. A total of 56 members of Rajya Sabha from 15 states are retiring in April, including Manmohan Singh who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.
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Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had also been a member of the Rajya Sabha August 1964 to February 1967 making Sonia Gandhi the second member of the Gandhi family to enter the Rajya Sabha.
According to reports, Sonia Gandhi’s decision to shift to the Rajya Sabha is based on health grounds as she can’t visit her constituency frequently. Apart from Rajasthan, the party had Himachal Pradesh as an option for Sonia Gandhi, but Gandhi chose Rajasthan over Himachal Pradesh, reports said.
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Speculations over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s poll debut
Following Sonia Gandhi’s opting out from Rae Bareli, speculations are rife that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may be considered for the seat. But the leadership has not yet taken any decision regarding Priyanka Gandhi’s electoral debut.
