Cong looks for Azad’s replacement in the RS

NEW DELHI: As Rajya Sabha’s Leader of the Opposition (LOP) Ghulam Nabi Azad’s term comes to an end on February 15, the Congress is weighing its options to pick his replacement, according to people aware of the developments.

Former Congress floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s deputy leader in the RS Anand Sharma and former Union minister P Chidambaram are among the names doing the rounds for the post, those familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity. The possibility of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh becoming the next LOP was also not discounted.

The Rajya Sabha will have no representatives from Jammu and Kashmir by February 15, when the four Upper House members from the Union Territory (UT) carved out of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019 complete their stints.

As the UT does not have an elected assembly at present, there will be no representatives in the upper chamber of Parliament until elections are held in J&K.

Two MPS from the Peoples Democratic Party, Nazir Ahmed Laway and Mir Mohammed Fayaz, will see their terms end on February 10 and 15, respectively.

Azad will see his term end on February 15 and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Shamsher Singh Manhas, on February 10.

The only chance Azad has to return to the RS is to get elected from Kerala after two months. In April, three seats from Kerala will fall vacant and the Congress, which holds one of them, will be able to retain it. But party insiders doubt if the Kerala state Congress leaders will allow an “outsider” to get elected from the state. Earlier, they refused to accommodate former Union minister Chidambaram for an RS seat, a person aware of the developments said.

Many insiders consider Kharge as the front runner for the post as he is considered very close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and was accommodated in the RS despite losing the LS elections in 2019. “Kharge’s nomination to the Upper House was seen as an indication that he will eventually replace Azad,” said a senior leader, asking not to be named.

But Sharma, a RS veteran, is also in the race as the deputy leader of the party. A few Congress leaders, however, maintained that Sharma’s prospects have diminished after he and 22 other senior leaders wrote a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, seeking sweeping changes in the party.

Singh and Chidambaram can also be surprise choices, maintained at least three party leaders.