Congress faces opposition over Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan:Digvijaya Singh supporter writes to Rahul, Priyanka, warns of cross-voting risk

The Congress has nominated Meenakshi Natarajan as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections from Madhya Pradesh. Following the announcement, mixed reactions have emerged within the party. While some senior leaders have questioned the decision, legislators from Chhindwara have backed the party leadership and dismissed fears of cross voting. Meanwhile, the BJP has also targeted Congress over the reported internal differences. Internal disagreement over candidate selection Senior Congress leader and two-time Huzur assembly candidate Naresh Gyanchandani raised objections to the decision on social media platform X. Tagging Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, he said there had been a major lapse in selecting the Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh. He claimed he had earlier advised the party leadership to be cautious in candidate selection, citing the possibility of cross voting in the state. Gyanchandani further said that if senior leader Digvijaya Singh had been fielded again, the seat would have been more secure, as he has stronger influence over legislators. He also suggested that Meenakshi Natarajan’s name did not have unanimous support within the party. Kamal Nath’s name was also discussed Earlier, there had been discussions within political circles about sending senior leader Kamal Nath to the Rajya Sabha. It was believed that the party might consider his name to secure the seat and reduce the risk of cross voting. However, the Congress high command finalized Meenakshi Natarajan’s candidature, putting speculation to rest. Chhindwara congress MLAs back leadership decision Congress MLAs from Chhindwara district have supported the party’s decision. Parasia MLA Sohan Valmiki said that all MLAs will support the candidate chosen by the leadership. He also said a Congress legislature party meeting will be held in Bhopal on Saturday. Chourai MLA Sujit Chaudhary said the party is fully united and there is no possibility of cross voting. He added that while expectations existed around Kamal Nath’s name, all leaders will now support Meenakshi Natarajan. Expert view on leadership strategy Senior journalist Rakesh Prajapati said that after Digvijaya Singh declined a third Rajya Sabha term, Kamal Nath emerged as a strong contender. However, the party appears to be focusing on promoting new and relatively younger leadership. He added that voting outcomes will reveal whether cross voting actually takes place. BJP targets Congress over internal differences The BJP reacted to the reported differences within Congress, with state media in-charge Ashish Agrawal stating on social media that internal conflict and factionalism are not new in the party. He said questions being raised by its own leaders reflect the state of the organisation.
Seat arithmetic and voting dynamics Congress faces challenges in securing its numbers as MLA Rajendra Bharti’s membership has ended, Vijaypur MLA Mukesh Malhotra is unable to vote in the Rajya Sabha election, and Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre’s position remains uncertain. Rajya Sabha elections involve indirect voting by MLAs. Members of the upper house are elected every two years as one-third of the seats retire in rotation. Out of 245 Rajya Sabha seats, 233 are elected indirectly while 12 are nominated by the President. To win a seat, a candidate requires a fixed number of votes based on the total strength of the legislative assembly and the number of seats, with each MLA’s vote carrying a value of 100.