Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday filed her nomination as Congress candidate for the Rajya Sabha Biennial elections in Rajasthan. She, along with her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, flew to Jaipur to file the nomination. Rajasthan's ex-chief minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra, and opposition leader Tikaram Jully were present during the nomination filing at the Rajasthan Assembly building. Before filing her nomination, Sonia Gandhi met with party MLAs in the opposition lobby of the assembly.
Her First term in the Rajya Sabha after five terms as a Lok Sabha MP
The Congress is expected to win one of Rajasthan's three Rajya Sabha seats in the upcoming elections. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's six-year term will end in April, leaving the seat vacant.
CPP चेयरपर्सन श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी जी ने जयपुर, राजस्थान में राज्यसभा के लिए नामांकन पत्र भरा। pic.twitter.com/aPpWNndFJ5— Congress (@INCIndia) February 14, 2024
Sonia Gandhi will be serving her first term in the Upper House after five terms as a Lok Sabha MP. Sonia Gandhi, aged 77, who served as the MP for Rae Bareli in Lok Sabha, has decided not to run in the upcoming general elections. She became an MP in 1999 when she assumed the role of Congress president.
A total of 56 Rajya Sabha members from 15 states will retire in April, with elections scheduled for February 27. The deadline for filing nominations is February 15.
Sonia Gandhi will become the Gandhi family's second member of the Rajya Sabha, after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who served in the Upper House from August 1964 to February 1967.
Mr Gehlot wrote on X earlier in the day, "We heartily welcome the announcement of respected Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji as the Rajya Sabha candidate from the Congress Party, who has 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 went on to say.
Meanwhile, there is speculation that her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will run for the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat after Sonia Gandhi opted out this time.
(With inputs from agencies, Photo Credits: The Hindu)
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