While senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal is likely to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha either from Uttarakhand or from Bihar, the party’s Maharashtra unit is said to be opposing fielding an “outsider”
While senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal is likely to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha either from Uttarakhand or from Bihar, the party’s Maharashtra unit is said to be opposing fielding an “outsider” for the Upper house.
Mr Sibal, a former Union minister, has been fighting the Congress’ legal battle in courts ever since he lost the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. The Congress lost the political battle in Uttarakhand but won the legal battle because of him, party insiders said.
If they are to be believed, even RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is keen to back Mr Sibal, who could take on the BJP’s Subramanian Swamy in the Rajya Sabha.
The party needs persons who can expose the government effectively in the Upper House with facts, they said.
The Congress is also planning to field a candidate from Rajasthan by uniting anti-BJP parties. “He or she could either be a Congress nominee or supported by the Congress and anti-BJP parties,” sources said.
The party wants to play the gamble after realising that growing infighting has divided in the BJP legislature party between the chief minister and PM loyalists.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra PCC chief Ashok Chavan and AICC general secretary in charge of the state Mohan Prakash will meet Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday with regard to the RS nomination. The Congress can win only one seat from the state.
