Rajya Sabha polls: Sonia Gandhi files nomination as Congress candidate from Rajasthan

Jaipur, February 14

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday filed her nomination papers here for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls from Rajasthan.

Her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra, leader of opposition Tikaram Jully were present at the time of the nomination filing in the assembly building.

Before filing nomination, Sonia Gandhi met with the party MLAs in the opposition lobby of the assembly.

The Congress is comfortably placed to win one of the three Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan for which elections will be held. The seat will fall vacant after former prime minister Manmohan Singh completes his six-year tenure in April.

It will be Sonia Gandhi’s first term in the Upper House after serving five terms as a Lok Sabha MP.

The 77-year-old, who represented Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha, would not contest the next general elections. She was first elected as an MP in 1999 after taking over as the Congress president.

In a post on X earlier in the day, Gehlot said, ‘We heartily welcome the announcement of respected Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji as the Rajya Sabha candidate from the Congress Party, who renounced the post of Prime Minister.’

‘Today her announcement as Rajya Sabha candidate from Rajasthan is a matter of happiness for the entire state and with this announcement all the old memories have been refreshed,’ he added.

A total of 56 members of Rajya Sabha from 15 states are retiring in April and the election to the seats would be held on February 27. The last date for filing nominations is February 15.