Congress calls rejection of Meenakshi Natarajan’s Rajya Sabha nomination ‘seat theft’

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi. File | Photo credit: ANI

The Congress on Thursday (June 11, 2026) said it will legally and politically challenge the rejection of the nomination of its Madhya Pradesh candidate Meenakshi Natarajan for the Rajya Sabha elections. It also announced a nationwide campaign on issues like inflation, unemployment, National Eligibility Test (High School Graduate) (NEET-UG) and other Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on-screen (OSM) paper leaks and controversies.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s top leadership presided over by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries KC Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, Bhupesh Baghel, Randeep Surjewala and the president of the party’s Congress Committee (CPC) and Pradesh.

In a post on social media platform X, Mr Gandhi called Madhya Pradesh a case of seat theft and said it was easier to rig an election with the help of the Election Commission than to win it. “After the Chori and Sarkar Chori polls – the BJP-EC jugalbandis finished the contest before it even started with the Chori Seat,” he said.

“Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajanji has submitted all documents. No pending cases. EC canceled her nomination on the frivolous objection of BJP. Parimal Nathwaniji, a BJP-backed Independent, got his name wrong in the form and skipped some mandatory information. EC has given him an extension to rectify everything,” the opposition leader added.

He said the same EC treated the two candidates very differently. “One was disqualified without being heard. The other was rewarded despite not following the rules,” Gandhi said.

The 60-odd Congress MLAs from Madhya Pradesh are likely to launch a protest against the returning officer’s decision in New Delhi soon.

“The country faces serious challenges”

In a post on X, Mr Kharge said the country was facing serious problems, including inflation, unemployment, investigation scandals and social inequality. “NEET paper leaks and various recruitment exams along with controversies related to the education system have shaken the confidence of millions of youth and their families. Shri Rahul Gandhi personally met the affected students and youth and strongly presented their voice before the nation,” he said.

“Unfortunately, today we see that those institutions and systems that have been built up for decades are being deliberately weakened. Therefore, our responsibility is not only for the political struggle, but also for the protection of the Indian constitution, democracy and social justice,” said Mr. Kharge.

The party has drawn up a list of issues to focus on in the three- to four-month campaign. Although the exact modalities are being worked out, the campaign is expected to start in late June.

Mr Gandhi is said to have warned his colleagues of an economic downturn and urged them to stand with the people, telling them that rising prices, fuel shortages and paper leaks were due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “bad policies”. Ms. Vadra is said to have said that the party should focus on targeted campaigning.

A matter of great concern: Venugopal

At a press conference with Mr. Ramesh after a nearly three-hour meeting, Mr. Venugopal described the recent developments in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand as a matter of “great concern”.

Calling the Madhya Pradesh episode a “seat chori”, Mr Venugopal said the development reflected the “sorry state of Indian democracy”. “It was discussed in detail at today’s meeting. We will fight against it politically and legally,” he said.

Mr. Venugopal said recurring paper leaks, unemployment and job insecurity are destroying the hopes of our Generation Z and youth and families are facing severe strain as the economy collapses and destroys household budgets. “From the block level to Parliament, we will mobilize all affected sections and send a strong message that we are with the common people, while the Modi-led BJP is with the rich and powerful,” he said.

Published – 11 Jun 2026 20:07 IST