Rajya Sabha polls: Congress MP considers shifting MLA away as BJP fields third candidate

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal and others present as party candidate Mahesh Kewat submit their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections at the state assembly in Bhopal on Monday, June 8, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI

Mahesh Kewat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also entered the fray soon after Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan filed her nomination on Monday (June 8, 2026), confirming an intense race for one of the three Rajya Sabha seats to be held on June 18.

The name of Mr Kewat, an OBC leader from the Bundelkhand region and chairman of the State Fishermen’s Welfare Board, was announced late on Sunday after rounds of a meeting of top state BJP leaders in Bhopal over the weekend and a nod from the party’s national leadership.

The BJP’s move put the Congress on standby with Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Umang Singhar hosting party MLAs and senior leaders over dinner at his residence to discuss election strategy. A senior party leader present at the dinner meeting said that options like shifting the MLA to a Congress-dominated state like Karnataka or Telangana were being considered and a report would be sent to the national leadership. “Talks are on to shift the MLAs to either Bengaluru or Hyderabad as about 20 of them said they have received communications from the BJP with offers,” said the leader, requesting anonymity.

The three seats to be vacated from Madhya Pradesh are currently held by Union Minister George Kurien, BJP MP Sumer Singh Solanki and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.

The BJP, which is poised to secure two seats, has about 48 MLA votes, which is 10 short of the minimum required number of votes for one seat of 58. The party had earlier announced that national general secretary Tarun Chugh and state unit secretary Rajneesh Agrawal would be fielding candidates for the two seats.

The Congress currently has 62 legal votes, just enough to secure one seat. The announcement of Mr Kewat’s candidacy prompted Congress officials to accuse the BJP of trying to indulge in horse-trading while saying all its MLAs supported Ms Natarajan, a former Lok Sabha member who is seen as close to party president Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leader MP Jitu Patwari alleged that the BJP’s stand on women’s reservation in Parliament and legislatures is “hollow”. “The BJP had called a special session (of Parliament and State Assembly) a few days ago, but today, when a woman got an opportunity from the Congress, she fielded a third candidate despite having less than the required number,” he said after accompanying Ms Natarajan during her nomination.

“Battle of Ideology”

Ms Natarajan, who is also Telangana in-charge of the Congress, called the election a battle between “Gandhi’s ideology and the divisive politics of the BJP”. “BJP has fielded its third candidate and now for us it is a fight of ideology as well as for democratic and constitutional values. This is a fight for dignified politics. We will fight unitedly and win,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav termed Mr. Kewat’s candidature as an attempt to give representation to the OBC communities. Various other BJP leaders have expressed confidence that the party will win all three seats, rejecting allegations of horse-trading.

Published – 09 Jun 2026 03:15 IST