Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. File picture
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is among the seven Rajya Sabha candidates across five States that the party announced on Thursday (June 4, 2026) for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections on June 18.
Mr. Kharge is one of the three candidates from Karnataka. He is expected to file his nomination in Bengaluru on Friday (June 5). The party’s media and publicity wing head, Pawan Khera, and Mansoor Ali Khan are the two other leaders fielded from Karnataka.
The party has fielded All India Professional Congress chief Praveen Chakravarty from Tamil Nadu. Mr. Chakravarty was one of the early advocates in the Congress to tie up with film superstar-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
In Madhya Pradesh, where the party can win one seat, it chose to field Meenakshi Natarajan, who had earlier represented the Mandsaur constituency in the Lok Sabha.
In Jharkhand, where the party can win one seat with the help of its ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Congress has fielded Pranav Jha, who is an All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary attached to the Congress President’s office. Mr. Jha is in-charge of communication in that office.
In Rajasthan, Neeraj Dangi, a sitting Rajya Sabha member, has been given another term.
Published – June 05, 2026 01:20 am IST
