New Delhi: With roughly 75 Rajya Sabha seats headed for polls this year, Delhi’s political grapevine is buzzing anew. Congress leaders are especially looking at Karnataka, where the party would likely be able to win three of the four seats that will fall vacant.
At the centre of one conversation is whether Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, 83, will be renominated to the Upper House. Apart from heading the party, Kharge, whose Rajya Sabha term ends in June this year, is also serving as the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House.
His son Priyank Kharge is a senior Karnataka minister, while his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani is representing the Gulbarga constituency in the Lok Sabha.
Parallelly, there is renewed buzz that Pawan Khera could finally make it to the Upper House, years after he had publicly conveyed disappointment at being overlooked for a Rajya Sabha nomination, saying that perhaps his “penance” wasn’t enough after the party chose others.
Many Congress leaders are, however, getting piqued by the party high command’s decision to distribute largesse to loyalists. Karnataka leaders, for instance, say that if they are the ones who brought the party back to power, they and not “outsiders” have the first claim on the RS seats.
“You bring the Congress to power in your state and you go to the Rajya Sabha. It’s very demotivating for party leaders who sweat it out in elections, only to see paratroopers getting the cake,” quipped a Congress leader.
When Priyanka met Jaya
A get-together hosted by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son, Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, saw a large turnout Friday. Senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for the first time, attended the annual lunch on the Capital’s political calendar.
Several Congress leaders, along with leaders from other opposition parties, were also present. Hooda senior took Rahul and Priyanka around the food stalls, where the sibling duo sampled various chaat items brought in by popular Old Delhi vendors, along with elaichi tea.
Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan also attended the gathering. She arrived as the Gandhi siblings walked towards their vehicle, but Priyanka soon returned and was seen embracing her warmly.
Ex-Mayawati aide’s confusion
Last month, former Uttar Pradesh minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui resigned from the Congress, accusing the party of not using his political experience properly.
Siddiqui, who was once a close aide of BSP president and former UP chief minister Mayawati, and considered one of the most powerful ministers in her cabinet, said he felt “suffocated” in the Congress.
After quitting the party, Siddiqui claimed that it has now become difficult to even get an appointment with the Gandhi siblings. He was expecting a call from senior leader Rahul Gandhi, who had played a key role in bringing him into the Congress in 2018, but no communication came from the party leadership.
Following his resignation, speculation grew that Siddiqui might join the Samajwadi Party or get a significant position in Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party. But there is still no clarity from either side.
According to sources, Siddiqui is negotiating not only for himself but also for important posts for his close aides in the party he joins. Because of this bargaining, his talks with both the SP and the ASP are currently on hold.
There was a time when Siddiqui was among the most powerful Muslim leaders in UP politics. Many even referred to him as a “deputy chief minister” during the BSP government’s tenure, as he handled more than 20 departments at one point. However, with time Siddiqui has apparently failed to maintain his political influence and his move of joining the Congress did not help him politically.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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