Congress identifying Rajya Sabha candidates with an eye on caste factor

The Congress is strongly considering caste equations while finalising its names for the June 10 elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats spread across 15 states.

The grand old party is expected to field a mix of young and old leaders from different castes and communities in order to strike a fine balance between various sections. Congress is expected to win around 10-11 of these seats.

For example, the Congress leadership has decided to field a Brahmin candidate from one of the seats. The names of Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and Avinash Pande are doing the rounds.

The party is seeking to find a credible Brahmin face to fill in the vacuum created by the death of Motilal Vora in 2020, and the retirement of Janardan Dwivedi from the Rajya Sabha in 2018.

Similarly, from minorities, senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Tariq Anwar are among the frontrunners. Sources said Rahul Gandhi had promised a section of Muslim leaders from the state at the time of the last elections to give nomination to a member of their community. Azad easily fits the bill.

The Punjabi community is also expected to get representation from one of these states given that after the retirement of Ambika Soni and the death of RK Dhawan and with former union minister Kapil Sibal being a vocal member of the group of 23 dissenters, also known as G-23, party general secretary Ajay Maken has emerged as their replacement and could be considered for the nomination to the Upper House of Parliament.

Also, the Congress for the first time in many years will have no representation in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, and there has been none from Delhi since 2018. Sibal could get a nomination from one of the opposition parties other than Congress.

After the three-day Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) from May 13 at Udaipur in Rajasthan, Congress came out with a declaration. According to the Udaipur declaration, 50% reservation in the organisation will be given to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Among the Dalits, senior leaders Mukul Wasnik and Kumari Selja are the strong contenders.

Wasnik, who is set to resign from the general secretary's post as per a norm in the Udaipur declaration that specified no office-bearer will hold the post after over five years, is likely to be nominated from Maharashtra. Wasnik has been holding the general secretary's post for over 24 years. 

In Haryana, the consent of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is imperative for the party to ensure the victory of its candidate. He is in favour of nominating an outsider from the state and Azad is said to be his first choice followed by Sharma. However, he will also fully back any other leader the Congress high command decides to field from Haryana. Hooda, an influential Jat leader, has been arguing that the party should field a non-Jat and a non-Dalit face since the state unit chief Ajay Bhan is a Dalit and he himself is the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. 

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot is unlikely to raise any objection to the name of Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala from his state. However, state Congress leaders belonging to different communities are opposing the move, insisting that the party has already accommodated several Jats in the government and the organisation.

Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra is a Jat and there are several Jats in the state cabinet besides Punjab in-charge Harish Choudhary is also a Jat. These leaders have urged the Congress leadership to accommodate members of other communities as well. Former union minister and Rajput leader Jitendra Singh is in contention for one of the seats from Rajasthan, the sources added. 

While Jairam Ramesh is likely to be nominated from Karnataka, former finance minister P Chidambaram is expected to be fielded from Tamil Nadu where the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has agreed to leave one seat for the Congress.

The Congress leadership is also considering an outsider for one seat from Madhya Pradesh while in Chhattisgarh one seat will go to the central leadership and chief minister Bhupesh Baghel will name his candidate from the other seat.

If Azad, Sharma and Wasnik are fielded, it will send a signal that the Congress leadership is willing to forgive and accommodate some of the G-23 leaders.