Raipur, May 31 (PTI) Congress leaders Rajeev Shukla and Ranjeet Ranjan on Tuesday filed their nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Chhattisgarh.
The two leaders were accompanied by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress’s state in-charge P L Punia and some state ministers when they filed their nominations for the June 10 biennial polls.
Journalist-turned-politician Rajeev Shukla (63), who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has served as the Rajya Sabha member thrice in the past.
Ranjeet Ranjan is a former Lok Sabha member from Bihar.
The opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh has accused the ruling Congress of betraying and insulting people of the state by nominating candidates from “outside” for the Rajya Sabha polls.
Asked about BJP’s claim, Chief Minister Baghel, while talking to reporters in the Assembly premises, said, “It (BJP) has also fielded leaders from outside their home states. I don’t want to give old examples. The Congress is a national party and has been sending its leaders to the Rajya Sabha from different states. It is not happening for the first time.” “It is true that people were expecting that someone from Chhattisgarh will be nominated, but if it did not happen this time, we will do it next time,” he added.
The Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (J), which has three MLAs in the 90-member assembly, on Tuesday announced that former MLA Dr Haridas Bharadwaj will be its candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Bhardwaj, accompanied by JCC(J) MLAs, also filed his nomination on Tuesday afternoon.
JCC (J) chief Amit Jogi said, “We are not contesting the Rajya Sabha election for victory or defeat, rather we are doing it for the pride and honour of the people of Chhattisgarh. If the two candidates from outside get elected unopposed from Chhattisgarh, then it will be our moral defeat. It will be the defeat of three crore people of the state.” Of the five Rajya Sabha members from Chhattisgarh, the terms of two – Chhaya Verma (Congress) and Ramvichar Netam (BJP) – will end next month.
The other three Rajya Sabha members from the state are K T S Tulsi, Phulodevi Netam (both of Congress) and Saroj Pandey (BJP).
The Congress did not re-nominate Chhaya Verma, who hails from the powerful Kurmi- a dominant OBC community in the state.
The main opposition BJP did not field its candidate in view of its low strength in the state Assembly, which constitutes the electoral college for the Rajya Sabha polls.
In the 90-member state Assembly, the Congress has 71 MLAs, the BJP has 14 seats, the JCC (J) has three seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has two members.
The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be done on June 1 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 3. PTI TKP GK GK
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