Congress picks Maken, Surjewala for Rajya Sabha
New Delhi, May 29
Former Haryana minister Randeep Surjewala, ex-Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh, and AICC general secretary, Rajasthan, Ajay Maken are among 10 leaders to bag the Congress nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.
AICC incharge for Himachal Rajiv Shukla has been nominated from Chhattisgarh, Maken from Haryana, and AICC minority cell chief Imran Pratapgarhi from Maharashtra.
Importantly, two G-23 leaders to be adjusted among Rajya Sabha nominees today are Vivek Tankha from Madhya Pradesh and Mukul Wasnik from Rajasthan.
Prominent absentees from the current list are G-23 veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, with indications that Azad might come from Jharkhand, where the JMM will give one seat to the Congress. Terms of both leaders ended recently, while the terms of Chidambaram and Jairam are to end in July.
Chidambaram will come to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu with the DMK’s support. He was previously representing Maharashtra.
Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh will get his fourth term as a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, the state he currently represents.
From Rajasthan, Sonia has nominated senior UP leader Pramod Tiwari, while Lok Sabha ex-MP Ranjeet Ranjan is the second party candidate from Chhattisgarh alongside Rajiv Shukla.
