Rajya Sabha polls: From a poet-turned-politico to media barons, parties make surprise picks

The Rajya Sabha election to fill 57 seats across 15 states fast approaching on 10 June – just a month before presidential elections – is turning into a prestige battle.

Though the BJP, Congress and regional parties have chalked out their own strategies, there seems to be one common theme across the political spectrum– surprise candidates.

Let’s take a closer look at the parties’ surprise picks:

Karnataka

As per The Hindu, the BJP on Sunday named film actor Jaggesh along with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha election from Karnataka.

Party sources told the newspaper Jaggesh’s name was neither discussed in the core committee meeting nor was it sent to the Central leadership. “It is quite surprising that Jaggesh has been nominated.”

As per The Print, The Congress too sprung a surprise by choosing Karnataka state general secretary Mansoor Ali Khan alongside former Union minister Jairam Ramesh.

As per the report the announcement of Khan’s name as party’s second candidate came as a surprise move by the Congress, as it has adequate number of votes to win just one seat.

Haryana

Media baron Kartikeya Sharma may upset the apple cart in Haryana after filing his nomination as an independent candidate. Sharma is the owner of NewsX, and managing director of ITV (Information TV Private Limited) which  owns the broadsheet The Sunday Guardian.

He is the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma and brother of Jessica Lal murder case convict Manu Sharma.  He is married to Aishwarya, daughter of Congress leader and former Haryana speaker Kuldeep Sharma.

Rajasthan

On Tuesday, the last day for filing nomination papers for elections on four Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan, Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra filed his nomination for elections to the Upper House of Parliament as an Independent candidate backed by the BJP.

Chandra’s tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana ends on 1 August.

Uttar Pradesh

The BJP turned quite a few heads by choosing ex-state party chief and OBC national morcha president K Laxman as its candidate from Uttar Pradesh.

Party sources told The Times of India that Laxman himself was among the ones surprised by the announcement, albeit pleasantly so.

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Maharashtra

The  Congress’ pick of Imran Pratapgarhi – the 34-year-old poet-turned-politico – as its state candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls has put him under the spotlight and left many from the party voicing their discontent including party insiders.

Chhattisgarh

The Congress choosing  AICC secretary and Bihar leader Ranjeet Ranjan, a former MP and wife of Bihar politician Pappu Yadav, over leaders like Kumari Selja came as a shock to many.

As per Deccan Herald, Ranjan was chosen for her her proximity to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, aggressive political pitch, need for a vocal woman MP in Rajya Sabha and to position her properly in Bihar.

Bihar

The JD(U) took observers aback when the Nitish Kumar-led party picked Kheeru Mahto for the Rajya Sabha polls in Bihar.

Mahto, the Jharkhand unit chief of the party, was handpicked by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Mahto, who was made the Jharkhand unit president a year ago, had also won the Mandu seat for the party in the 2005 assembly polls.

Jharkhand

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha snubbed the Congress by  unilaterally announcing Mahua Majhi as its candidate.

This despite chief minister Hemant Soren’s meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi this week amid speculation that the junior ally would accommodate Ghulam Nabi Azad or Anand Sharma from the state.

Big names miss out

The JDU choosing Mahto was a huge snub to party bigwig and Union minister RCP Singh by Kumar. The Bihar chief minister is reportedly upset by the closeness of Singh, his one-time protégé, to the BJP on issues such as the NRC and special status for Bihar.

For the BJP, the exclusion of Union minority affairs minister Mukthar Abbas Naqvi from the list of  nominees raised more than a few eyebrows.

Questions are also being raised about the future of Naqvi, the party’s deputy leader in the House, in the Union Council of ministers.

Another high-profile name missing from the BJP list is party spokesperson Syed Zafar Islam.

The BJP also caused quite a stir by dropping the name of Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, head of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) and prominent cultural face, from its Maharashtra list.

For the Congress, already facing the exit of several high-profile leaders and defections, the list of names released for the polls caused even more heartburn within the party.

The party also gave a miss to two veteran warhorses Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Spokesperson Pawan Khera, whose name was missing from the nominee list, initially put out a dejected tweet before deleting it.

Maharashtra Congress leader Nagma also publicly voiced her displeasure at missing out.

Scrutiny of candidates’ nomination papers will be held today.

Nominations can be withdrawn till 3 June.

With inputs from agencies

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