Congress releases list of candidates for Rajya Sabha elections; Singhvi, Narender Reddy among 6 nominees
The Congress party has announced six candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, including two nominees from Telangana. The Congress is projected to improve its position in Telangana, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, where it is likely to gain seats.
The Congress party has announced the names of six candidates who will contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from different states. The list includes two candidates from Telangana and one each from Chhattishgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. According to an official release, the candidates include Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vem Narender Reddy from Telangana, Phulo Devi Netam from Chhattisgarh, Karamvir Singh Boudh from Haryana, Anurag Sharma from Himachal Pradesh, and M Christopher Tilak from Tamil Nadu.
The candidate list was approved by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The announcement was formally made by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, who confirmed that the party leadership had finalised the nominees for the Rajya Sabha elections from the respective states.
Two seats are falling vacant in Telangana
In Telangana, two Rajya Sabha seats are set to fall vacant as the current terms of Abhishek Singhvi and KR Suresh Reddy from the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi will end on April 9. With the Congress government currently in power in the state, Singhvi is widely expected to retain his seat in the Upper House due to the party’s numerical strength in the Legislative Assembly.
Vem Narender Reddy thanks Congress leadership
Former MLA Vem Narender Reddy, who is considered a close associate of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, expressed his gratitude to the party's top leadership after being nominated. "My heartfelt thanks to the honorable Sonia Gandhi for announcing me as the Congress Party's Rajya Sabha candidate, to the Congress Party National President Mallikarjun Kharge, to the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, to AICC Secretary KC Venugopal, to MP Priyanka Gandhi, to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, to Congress Affairs In-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, to Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, to PCC President Mahesh Kumar Goud, and to the Congress Party High Command," he wrote on X.
Rajya Sabha elections 2026
The Election Commission has announced that biennial elections to 37 seats in the Rajya Sabha will be held on March 16. The polls will take place across 10 states: Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar. The elections have been necessitated as the incumbent members are retiring this year. The maximum number of Rajya Sabha seats going to polls is in Maharashtra at 7, while 6 seats are falling vacant in Tamil Nadu and six each in West Bengal and Bihar. Odisha will have 4 seats falling vacant. Assam will see polls to 3 seats. Chhattisgarh and Haryana will each have 2 seats going to polls, as will Telangana. Himachal Pradesh will have 1 seat up for election. The Congress is projected to improve its position in Telangana, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, where it is likely to gain seats.