New Delhi, June 6: The Congress party is ramping up its preparations for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections. Following approval from party president Mallikarjun Kharge, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed senior leaders Bhupesh Baghel and Ajay Sharma as observers for Jharkhand.
This move is seen as a crucial part of Congress’s strategy for the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for June 18, 2026.
So far, the party has announced seven candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections across ten states. Mallikarjun Kharge formally filed his nomination from Karnataka on Friday, solidifying his candidacy.
The candidates announced by Congress include Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, and Mansoor Ali Khan from Karnataka; Meenakshi Natarajan from Madhya Pradesh; Praveen Chakravarty from Tamil Nadu; Neeraj Dangi from Rajasthan; and Pranav Jha from Jharkhand.
Elections will be held for 24 biennial vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha, along with three by-election seats from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. The last date for filing nominations is June 8, with scrutiny scheduled for June 9. Candidates can withdraw their nominations until June 11, and the counting of votes will take place on the evening of June 18.
Kharge’s current term in Karnataka ends on June 25. Based on their strength in the assembly, Congress is confident of winning three out of four seats in the state.
Rajya Sabha elections are conducted under a single transferable vote system based on proportional representation, making political alliances and the number of legislators critical factors.
In Jharkhand, Congress is the second-largest ally in the JMM-led coalition government, holding 16 seats in the 81-member assembly.
Recently, the party has formed a 36-member political affairs committee to strengthen its organization in the state, including state president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh and former minister Alamgir Alam.
Citing their number of MLAs, Congress has demanded one Rajya Sabha seat from the coalition, leading to Pranav Jha’s candidacy. While the relationship between JMM and Congress remains collaborative, Congress is also maintaining its independent political identity on issues like land acquisition, displacement, and mining.
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