Congress announces six candidates for RS biennial polls, Singhvi renominated from Telangana

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday announced six candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 16 across 10 states.

The list includes senior sitting Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, adviser to the Telangana Chief Minister Vem Narender Reddy, Phulo Devi Netam, Karamvir Singh Boudh, Anurag Sharma and M Christopher Tilak.

Singhvi has been re-nominated as the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate from Telangana, along with Narender Reddy. Meanwhile, Phulo Devi Netam, Karamvir Boudh and Christopher Tilak have been fielded from Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, respectively.

The Congress President Shri @kharge, has approved the proposal for the candidature of the following persons to contest the Rajya Sabha elections as Congress candidates from the states mentioned against their names: pic.twitter.com/5rjufZqpEX

— Congress (@INCIndia) March 5, 2026

Earlier in the day, Vem Narender Reddy, who is considered a close aide to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, expressed gratitude towards the Congress high command upon being nominated by the party to contest the Rajya Sabha elections.

“My heartfelt thanks to the honorable Sonia Gandhi for announcing me as the Congress Party’s Rajya Sabha candidate, to the Congress Party National President Mallikarjun Kharge, to the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, to AICC Secretary KC Venugopal, to MP Priyanka Gandhi, to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, to Congress Affairs In-charge Meenakshi Natarajan, to Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, to PCC President Mahesh Kumar Goud, and to the Congress Party High Command”, Reddy wrote on X.

The polling for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm.

According to the press note, the term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.

The notification will be issued on February 26, commencing the election process. The last date of nominations is March 5, followed by scrutiny on March 6. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till March 9. (ANI)