Elections to the Rajya Sabha are set to take place on February 27 as 56 seats will fall vacant in April. It is unclear as to who will contest from Sonia’s Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat, which she has held for five terms in a row, though reports suggest that it could be Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Sonia Gandhi arrived in Jaipur on February 14 along with Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who was present at Jaipur Airport, told the press that it was a matter of pride for the state that Sonia was choosing to stand from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha elections.
A senior Congress leader told The Hindu that the Congress had decided to field Sonia from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha so that it did not appear as if the party was giving up in the northern states.
According to reports, one of the seats that will fall vacant in April currently belongs to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Hindustan Times had reported that “it was out of the question” for the 91-year-old former PM to return to public life after the end of his Rajya Sabha tenure. Singh has been ill for a long period of time. As per the report, his last visit to the Parliament was during the beginning of the Winter session in 2023.