Congress Suffers Setback in Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha Polls as Candidate's Nomination Is Rejected

Bhopal: The Congress suffered a major setback in the Rajya Sabha elections after the nomination of its candidate, Meenakshi Natarajan, for a Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh was rejected by the Returning Officer.

The nomination was rejected following objections raised by the BJP, which alleged that Natarajan had failed to disclose details of a criminal case in her affidavit. With her nomination being declared invalid, BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat is now set to be elected unopposed.

Natarajan, a Karnataka-born Congress leader known for her close association with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, previously served as president of the Indian Youth Congress.

Her candidature had already triggered significant opposition within the Madhya Pradesh Congress unit. Several leaders expressed displeasure over the party's decision to nominate Natarajan instead of senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.

Senior Congress leader Naresh Gyanchandani had publicly warned that sidelining Digvijaya Singh could prompt some Congress MLAs to cross-vote in favour of the BJP. He also criticised the party leadership for selecting Natarajan without adequate consultation with state-level leaders.

In a social media post, Gyanchandani said the decision to field Natarajan had not been discussed sufficiently within the party. He subsequently resigned from the Congress on Monday, shortly after Natarajan filed her nomination papers.

The developments have significantly altered the electoral arithmetic in the state. Although the BJP was initially expected to secure two Rajya Sabha seats, the party had also fielded a candidate for a third seat amid signs of discontent within the Congress ranks.

Following concerns over possible cross-voting, the Congress had reportedly begun efforts to move its MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru as part of a strategy to maintain party unity ahead of the election.