Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh may contest Rajya Sabha polls

Bhopal: Polls for three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh and two RS seats in Chhattisgarh are going to be held on March 26.

Notification for this was issued by Election Commission of India on Tuesday.

Speculations are rife in BJP circles in MP and Chhattisgarh that former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh may be asked by the Central leadership to contest the biennial elections.

They have so far resisted the attempt by the Central leadership to move them out state politics by inducting them in the Union cabinet.

The polls in MP were necessitated following completion of terms of three sitting MPs, Prabhat Jha, Satyanarayan Jatia (both of BJP) and Digvijay Singh (Congress), in the Upper House on April nine this year. Similarly, the biennial elections in Chhattisgarh necessitated following expiry of terms of sitting MPs, Ranveer Singh Judeo (BJP) and Motilal Vohra (Congress), in April.

While ruling Congress and Opposition BJP in MP are in a position to send one candidate each to the RS in the ensuing biennial polls as per their strengths in the state Assembly, the third vacant seat may go to elections.

Several veteran leaders from Congress and BJP have been lobbying with their respective Central leaderships. Prominent among those in Congress who have been vying for RS ticket in the ensuing polls in the state are former chief minister Digvijay Singh, AICC general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia, former MP Pradesh Congress Committee president Arun Yadav and former Congress Legislature Party leader Ajey Singh.

Singh and Scindia have lost last Lok Sabha polls from their respective seats of Bhopal and Guna in MP and hence are desperately trying to go to the Upper House to revive their political career.

In Chhattisgarh, the former AICC treasurer Vohra was lobbying hard to retain RS seat. Ruling Congress which has decimated BJP in the 2018 Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh is in a position to win the two RS seats.

Other Congress leader who has been lobbying to get RS ticket from Chhattisgarh is Karuna Shukla, niece of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has requested AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to go to Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh.

Elections to 55 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in April will be held on March 26, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday.

Fifty-one of these 55 seats from 17 states are falling vacant on different dates in April due to retirement of sitting members, while four other seats are already vacant due to resignation of members. The terms of the members who had resigned in the recent past were also ending in April. While notification for the biennial elections will be issued on March 6, March 13 is the last date of filing nominations.

Counting will be held on the evening of March 26, an hour after the conclusion of polls. Prominent among those retiring are Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh (JD-U), Union minister Ramdas Athawale (RPI-Athawale), former union ministers Vijay Goel (BJP) and Kumari Selja (Congress).