In Congress' choice of RS candidates, the veterans yet again overpower the juniors

New Delhi, Mar 13: The Congress released its list of candidates for the Rajya Sabha and there were some glaring omissions.

Among a major power tussle between the seniors and juniors, it appears as though the veterans in the party ultimately had their way. The list according to sources was prepared by Ashok Gehlot, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Digvijaya Singh.

The Congress decided to field Hooda's son, Deepender from Haryana, while it was expected that this seat would go to Randeep Singh Surjewala. Kumari Selja who is retiring from the Rajya Sabha too did not make the cut.

Hooda appeared to have his way this time following the fiasco of 2016. It may be recalled that in 2016, the Congress had fielded R K Anand, but he lost the battle. 14 votes of Hooda's supporters were found to be invalid.

Hooda this year opposed that a ticket be given to Selja or Surjewala. Initially, he had planned of going to the Rajya Sabha himself and fielding his son from Haryana in a by-poll after he resigns as MLA. However, the high command did not agree to this demand.

The RS polls from Madhya Pradesh would be an interesting watch. The BJP has announced the candidature of Jyotiraditya Scindia after he quit the Congress along with 22 other MLAs. The Congress, on the other hand, has re-nominated Digvijaya sigh and fielded former BSP leader Phool Singh Baraiya. In all there are three vacancies and both parties can win a seat each. The contest would be interesting for the third seat.

In Maharashtra, there was a race on between Mukul Wasnik, Rajani Patel and Rajeev Shukla. However, the ticket went to Rajiv Satav, who is the Congress in-charge for Gujarat.

The Congress in the days to come is expected to witness an upheaval in Rajasthan, owing to the choice of candidates. Many Congress leaders are upset with the candidature of Neeraj Dangi, who has lost three assembly elections. The other candidate is K C Venugopal, who is said to be close to Rahul Gandhi.

From Chhattisgarh, the Congress has fielded Robert Vadra's lawyer, K T S Tulsi. A former nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, this is considered to be a surprise pick. The other candidate from this state is Phulo Devi Netam. From Jharkhand, the party has fielded Shahzada Anwar, although it does not stand a chance to send him to the upper house.