Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, among 7 Congress Rajya Sabha nominees

The Congress on Thursday announced its list of seven candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections, renominating party’s national chief Mallikarjun Kharge from Karnataka, with party functionaries aware of the matter saying that the selections underline loyalty factors, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s imprint, and a couple of fresh faces in the House of the Elders.

Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, among 7 Congress Rajya Sabha nominees

Gandhi loyalist Meenaakshi Natarajan, who had won the Mandsaur Lok Sabha seat—a difficult seat for the Congress—in 2009, and has been a key member in Gandhi’s core team, has been given a ticket from Madhya Pradesh. Former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh’s term in the Rajya Sabha is coming to an end.

Congress’ media department head Pawan Khera has been given a Rajya Sabha ticket from Karnataka, where the party will get three seats. Khera had once questioned if there was any shortcomings in his devotion after he was overlooked by the party a few years ago for a ticket for the Upper House of Parliament.