Meenakshi Natarajan nomination: Congress leaders eyeing RS seat ‘spoiled’ party nominee’s chances, says MP CM

Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan after a party delegation led by party general secretary KC Venugopal met the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners in New Delhi on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Photo credit: ANI

A day after the nomination of Meenakshi Natarajan, the Congress candidate for one of the three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh that will go to polls on June 18, was rejected during scrutiny, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that the alleged irregularities in her nomination form were behind opposition party leaders who were “looking for a seat” for themselves.

But the Congress claimed that Ms Natarajan’s nomination was rejected as part of a “premeditated conspiracy” and all its 62 MLAs will call on President Droupadi Murma in Delhi on Friday to seek her intervention in the matter.

Ms Natarajan’s nomination was rejected by Assembly Secretary Arvind Sharma, Returning Officer, on the objection raised by BJP’s third-place candidate Mahesh Kewat and state party general secretary Rahul Kothari. They alleged that the Congress candidate had “concealed” details of the case filed against her in Telangana. Mr. Kewat is now all set to win unopposed and ensure BJP’s victory in all the three seats.

“The Congress made a mistake in the form of its candidate deliberately because of the fear of losing. Many Congress leaders were eyeing the (Rajya Sabha) seat but when they were not nominated, they spoiled the game (for Ms Natarajan),” Mr Yadav said.

The CM also accused the Congress of “not trusting” its own MLAs following the party’s attempts to shift them to Bengaluru over concerns of cross-voting. “Congress needs introspection now,” he said.

BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal also hit out at the Congress, alleging that the infighting had led to the rejection of Ms Natarajan’s nomination. “Ghar ka Lanka dhaye (An insider will topple the kingdom). We used to get all the information from them (Congress insiders) from time to time,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, several senior Congress leaders and MLAs accused the returning officer of “bias” and started a day-long hunger strike near the State Election Commission office in Bhopal. State Congress president Jitu Patwari said the party had approached the Election Commission of India and would also move the Supreme Court to challenge the rejection of Ms Natarajan’s nomination.

Announcing a nationwide protest against the issue, Mr. Patwari said party workers would man the CM’s house in Bhopal and BJP offices in all districts. “We will reveal the real face of BJP in every village and household,” he said.

JP Dhanopia, legal cell in-charge of the state Congress, told The Hindu that the FIR in Telangana was not a criminal case and that no charges had been filed against Ms Natararjan.

Published – 11 Jun 2026 02:50 IST