Congress Fields Abhishek Manu Singhvi For Rajya Sabha From Telangana

New Delhi: The Congress party has nominated senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypoll in Telangana.

The announcement was made by Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, who stated that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved Singhvi’s candidature.

Earlier this year, Singhvi contested from Himachal Pradesh but narrowly lost to BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan due to cross-voting by some disgruntled Congress MLAs. Despite the party having a strength of 40 members and support from three Independents in the 68-member Himachal Assembly, the election ended in a tie, with both candidates receiving 34 votes. The winner was then determined by a draw of lots.

The Telangana vacancy arose after the resignation of K Keshava Rao from the Rajya Sabha. Rao, who left Congress in 2013 to join the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharath Rashtra Samithi), rejoined Congress in July, following the party’s landslide victory in Telangana.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently announced bypolls for 12 Rajya Sabha seats across nine states. The majority of these vacancies were created after the members were elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general elections. The last date for filing nominations is August 21, with elections scheduled for September 3, if required.

With Congress holding a majority in Telangana, Singhvi is expected to secure a win in this bypoll.