P Chidambaram may replace Azad as leader of Opposition

Chennai: Former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday filed nomination to contest the biennial elections to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra since the party does not have enough numbers to get him elected from his home State.

The 70-year-old Chidambaram filed his nomination papers before the Returning Officer in the presence of his former cabinet colleagues Sushil Kumar Shinde, Prithiviraj Chavan and PCC chief Ashok Chavan. The senior Congress leader’s son Karthi Chidambaram was also present.

The Congress, which has 42 members in a house of 288, can just elect one member to Rajya Sabha on its own and chose  Chidambaram since the party has not been able to nominate him to the Upper House ever since UPA-II lost power in 2014.

Chidambaram would get elected unopposed if his nomination papers are found to be in the prescribed format. Congress high command faced opposition from Maharashtra unit to nominate someone from outside the State for Rajya Sabha, but his candidature was pushed through without any hitch.

Shiv Sena had slammed Congress for fielding Chidambaram stating that the party had “damaged itself by foisting him on the State“.

The former minister was hoping to get elected to Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. Since his party won just eight seats his hopes were dashed. The DMK was also not keen on giving a seat to its ally.

Chidambaram’s entry into Rajya Sabha is set to strengthen Congress’ voice in the Upper House, where the party is still in a  majority despite losing successive Assembly polls. With his election to Rajya Sabha certain, speculation is intense that he will replace Ghulam Nabi Azad as Leader of Opposition.

An articulate speaker, Chidambaram is expected to take an aggressive stand in Rajya Sabha against the BJP Government on a host of issues.