Shimla: Congress leader Abhishek Manu Shinghvi on Thursday filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Himachal Pradesh.
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Congress state in-charge Rajeev Shukla, and party state President Pratibha Singh were present with Singhvi.
All the cabinet ministers, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS), and three independent MLAs were also present.
The seat will fell vacant as BJP's National President JP Nadda's term will end in April. The BJP has fielded Nadda from Gujarat this time.
Singhvi was first elected to the Upper House in 2006 and was re-elected in 2012 and 2018.
Earlier, the grand old party also announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha Biennial elections yesterday. Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination for the Biennial elections from Rajasthan on Wednesday.
In its second list, Congress announced its six candidates from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana for the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on February 27.
The party has fielded All India Congress Committee (AICC) treasurer Ajay Maken from Karnataka. Along with him, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and GC Chandrashekhar will also contest from the southern state.
The term for Rajya Sabha MPs is six years, and elections are held after every two years for 33 per cent of the seats. Currently, the Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245 members.
The Election Commission has scheduled the Rajya Sabha elections for 15 states, including Uttar Pradesh, for February 27. Voting will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on this date, with the deadline for nominations set for February 15.
The results of the elections will be announced on the same day, February 27. The Election Commission has announced the biennial Rajya Sabha polls for 56 seats, as the tenure of incumbents ends in April.
Out of the total 245 members, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir (w.e.f. 31.10. 2019) and 12 are nominated by the President.
—ANI