Congress tries to mop up extra Rajya Sabha seats amid dipping strength

NEW DELHI: With its Rajya Sabha strength dipping, the Congress leadership is making an all-out pitch for securing three extra seats by exploring strategic tie-ups. The party is capable of winning seven seats on its own, on paper, in the upcoming biennial elections.
The ambitious and risk-prone Congress ventures are for winning an extra seat each in Karnataka, Jharkhand and West Bengal, even while keeping fingers crossed on the unity of its legislature party in Bihar to win one of the seven ‘sure’ seats. With fewer seats available, there are too many Congress aspirants lobbying hard for few seats.

Congress plans to field a Muslim and a Lingayat for the two seats it is sure to win in Karnataka. The party also plans to contest a third seat on the strength of its surplus votes and hopes to persuade JDS MLAs to lend a helping hand, officially or otherwise.

It calculates that the Deve Gowda-Kumaraswamy duo will find it difficult to repeat an underhand deal with BJP on the eve of the assembly polls. However, JDS too is asking Congress to help it win the seat, even as CM Siddharamaiah is slated to meet AICC representatives for selecting the candidates.

Technocrat Sam Pitroda and Shaktisinh Gohil are among probables for the two seats Congress can win in Gujarat. However, the leadership is keen on ensuring a fresh term for Abhishek Singhvi, who completes his term as a representative of Rajasthan in the Upper House, and is looking at Gujarat and Jharkhand for fielding him.

The JMM-Congress alliance can win only a seat, though a member each from both parties are retiring from the state, and the AICC is trying to persuade JMM to help the Congress win the seat Provided its 27 MLAs do not cross vote, Congress has an outside chance of winning Bihar’s sixth seat — with RJD and JDU set to elect two representatives each and BJP one — using surplus RJD votes and backing of CPI-ML and a few Independents.

Meira Kumar, Nikhil Kumar and Shakeel Ahmed have been shortlisted for the seat, even as the leadership is keeping a close eye on the rumblings in its legislature party.

While Trinamool can win five of the six seats (it has announced six candidates) in Bengal, Congress with over 40 MLAs is trying to bag the sixth seat with the support of the Left Front. Since Left is in no position to retain its existing seat, CPM will be without a Rajya Sabha MP from Bengal for the first time since 1964. CPM is persuading Congress to agree to a common ‘independent’ candidate. Among those eyeing the West Bengal and Jharkhand seats are retiring Congress MPs Rajiv Shukla and Pramod Tiwari and a few leaders from the states.

Congress aspirants for the lone winnable seat in Maharashtra include retiring member Rajani Patil and leaders such as Milind Deora, Prithviraj Chavan and SK Shinde. Congress will be able to retain its single seat in MP, where Satyavrat Chaturvedi completes his term.