Cong’ Dangi files RS nomination for second term from Raj

Jaipur: Congress's outgoing MP Neeraj Dangi filed his nomination papers Friday for a second term from Rajasthan ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls on June 18.

Dangi submitted his nomination papers to returning officer Bharat Bhushan Sharma. Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully and several party MLAs accompanied Dangi to the state Assembly during the nomination process. However, AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot was absent at the nomination.

According to chief electoral officer Naveen Mahajan, Dangi filed three sets of nomination papers.

The party renominated Dangi Thursday evening. Dangi was earlier elected to the Upper House in 2020. The decision to field Dangi again is being viewed as an effort to strengthen its traditional Dalit support base while maintaining internal political balance within the party.

Dangi was unable to secure a victory in the state assembly polls earlier, despite contesting the Reodar Assembly seat on a Congress ticket in 2003, 2008 and 2018.

The terms of Dangi, BJP's Rajendra Gehlot and Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu are set to end on June 21, 2026. The BJP has nominated its Haryana in-charge Satish Poonia and national general secretary Alka Gurjar as its candidates for the two seats.

Rajasthan has a total of 10 Rajya Sabha seats, which are currently equally divided between the BJP and the Congress, with five members each. Based on the current strength of parties in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the BJP is expected to win two seats while the Congress would secure one. A candidate requires 51 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat, and the existing arithmetic favours the BJP winning two of the three seats. The BJP has 118 MLAs in the Assembly, while the Congress has 67 members.