Soon after the Congress announced its candidates, including “old timers” like P Chidambadam, Jairam Ramesh and Mukul Wasnik as the party’s nominees for the Rajya Sabha berths for which polling is scheduled on June 10, many young leaders within the party looking to sail into Parliament for over two decades have directly or indirectly expressed annoyance to the leadership.
Party spokesperson Pawan Khera and its Lok Sabha candidate and yesteryear actress Nagma raised questions while some of the members questioned the very rationale of the Udaipur Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir. “Have we resolved to look ahead or do a roll back,” said a one-time Lok Sabha MP who is now toiling hard to resurrect the party.
Nagma took to social media saying she was promised a Rajya Sabhe berth by none other than party chief Sonia Gandhi when she was inducted in the Congress.
That the Congress bid to send its senior most leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to the Upper House from Jharkhand was also shattered after the JMM named its leader Mahua Maji as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand. Maji's name was announced by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is also JMM's executive president.
Soren said that he zeroed in on Maji's name after holding discussions in this regard with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, and his father and JMM supremo Shibu Soren.
Soren had said on Sunday that the ruling coalition in the state would field a joint candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat. The CM, however, did not specify whether the candidate would be from his party or the Congress. Taken aback by Maji’s candidature, the Congress said it was not what was decided in the meeting between Sonia and Hemant.
The Congress on Sunday announced candidates for the polls, fielding former Union ministers P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken as well as party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Vivek Tankha and Imran Pratapgarhi filed their nomination papers on Monday for the June 10 election to Rajya Sabha.
Nagma raised questions over the candidature of minority cell head Imran Pratapgarhi while Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam said that suppression' of talent is a "suicidal step" for the party.
Sanyam Lodha, who is also an adviser to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, said the Congress should re-reconsider its decision to field candidates to the Rajya Sabha from outside the state. "Shayad meri tapasya mein kuch kami reh gayi (Maybe my penance fell short)," Khera tweeted.
Responding to it, Nagma said, "My 18 years of penance fell short before Imran bhai (Imran Pratapgarhi, who has been fielded from Maharashtra) Sonia Ji our Congress president had personally committed to accommodating me in RS in 2003/04 when I joined Congress party on her behest we weren't in power then. Since then it's been 18 years (but) they didn't find an opportunity, Mr Imran is accommodated in RS from Maha. I ask am I less deserving," she tweeted. However, both Khera and Naga later congratulated the nominees.
Shortly after the Congress announced its candidates on Sunday night, Lodha had tweeted, "The Congress party should explain why no Congress leader/worker from Rajasthan is nominated for the Rajya Sabha elections," with the hashtag 'Congress Sankalp'. He cautioned the Congress' top brass that the party would suffer a "huge blow" in the assembly elections next year if it failed to accommodate leaders from Rajasthan in the Upper House.