New Delhi:
The Congress leadership has been criticized after it omitted prominent leaders, including party spokesman Pawan Khera, from selecting candidates for Rajya Sabha.
Mr Khera, known for his spirited defense of the party line in TV debates and media interactions, expressed disappointment over a Hindi tweet after Congress released its list of 10 upper house candidates.
“Perhaps something is missing in my penance,” Mr Khera tweeted in Hindi.
‘शायद मेरी तपस्या में कुछ कमी रह गई’
— Pawan Khera ???????? (@Pawankhera) May 29, 2022
Congress has Rajeev Shukla and Ranjeet Ranjan of Chhattisgarh, Ajay Maken of Haryana, Jairam Ramesh of Karnataka, Vivek Tankha of Madhya Pradesh, Imran Pratapgarhi of Maharashtra, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari of P. of Tamil Nadu.
The party has been criticized for its Rajasthan candidates, none of whom are from the state.
Sanyam Lodha, Congress MLA of Sirohi in Rajasthan, said the party will have to explain why no one from the state has been nominated. “The Congress party should tell the reason for not running any leader/employee of Congress from Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha elections?” he tweeted.
The party was also criticized on social media for failing to accommodate veteran leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma.
The party’s move to select poet-turned-politician Imran Pratapgarhi also came under criticism. Party leader and popular actor Nagma shared Mr Khera’s tweet, writing: “Our 18 years of penance also fell short in front of Imran Bhai.”
Satish Poonia, the head of the BJP’s Rajasthan unit, took a swipe at Congress over the choice of candidates. “Chintan Shivir of Congress took place in Rajasthan. Now look at another performance of this mindset. Keep in mind the quota of local candidates….who will be without ‘local’ ‘vocal’…? he tweeted.
Elections will be held on June 10 for 57 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states.