A Congress delegation on Wednesday met the Election Commission after the nomination of party leader Meenakshi Natarajan for the Rajya Sabha was rejected. The party sought a review of the decision, calling it unfair and legally questionable. The delegation included top party leaders, including K C Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Deepa Dasmunshi, Vivek Tankha and Abhishek Singhvi, along with Meenakshi Natarajan.
Speaking to the media, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was part of the delegation, said the party made a detailed representation before the poll body.
He argued that the rejection was based on issues related to Form 26 and claimed there was no valid criminal case or disclosure requirement that justified such an action. He also said the decision, in his view, affected fairness in the electoral process and created an uneven playing field.
Singhvi further stated that the delegation requested an urgent reconsideration, especially since the matter came up on the day of withdrawal of nominations, leaving limited time for correction or review. He described the decision as unjust and urged the poll body to correct what he called a serious error.
However, officials from the Election Commission maintained that deficiencies in Form 26 cannot be ignored.
BJP set to win all three Rajya Sabha seats from MP?
The Congress party has intensified its protests after the nomination of Natarajan was cancelled. The party has accused the Election Commission of showing bias and not following proper procedure in handling the nomination process.
Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had objected to Natarajan’s candidature. It claimed that there were inconsistencies in her nomination papers and that she had not fully disclosed important information, including a case filed against her.
Following the rejection of her nomination, the BJP’s third candidate, Mahesh Kewat, is now expected to win unopposed.
With this development, the BJP is set to secure all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh.
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