Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India, is unlikely to be sent to the Upper House from Assam again, as Congress’ hold on the Legislative Assembly weakens, reported The Hindu. His tenure in the Upper House of the Parliament ends on 14 June.
7 June has been announced as the day of the biennial election by the Election Commission and the deadline for filing nominations is 28 May.
Debabrata Saikia, leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the Assam Assembly said,
“We don’t have the numbers on our own and it is not advisable to field a leader of such senior stature when our numbers are not certain.”
Out of the 126 members in the Assam Assembly – who are the voters in the Rajya Sabha elections – the Congress only has 25 MLAs. Even with support from allies in the state, it is expected to fall short of the 43 first-preference votes it requires.
The Congress currently has the support it needs to field a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Punjab , but there are no vacancies in these states.
Tamil Nadu is an option, as six sitting members from the state are retiring on 24 July, and there are reports that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which is positioned to win at least two seats in the state, may offer one to the Congress according to The Hindu. However, there is no official confirmation.
If Singh misses the July elections, he will have to wait till April next year when 55 Rajya Sabha members retire from different states. Apart from that, the Congress may ask a sitting member from a state, where it has a majority, to resign, and elect Singh instead.
“There is still time and the situation will get clearer after the 23 May results and accordingly the party will take a decision,” a senior Congress member told the daily.
(With inputs from The Hindu.)
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