After Sibal's exit, speculation over G23 members Azad and Sharma for Rajya Sabha

“Both Azad and Sharma have been included in the political affairs group set up by the Congress chief for the 2024 national polls. She will take a call in the Rajya Sabha seat matter,” a senior AICC functionary said on condition of anonymity. Between the two, Azad has an edge, said party insiders, writes ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: Speculation is ongoing in the Congress over the likelihood of G23 members Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma getting a Rajya Sabha berth given that nominations for the June 10 polls close at the end of May. The issue of Azad and Sharma has assumed significance after the exit of another key G23 member Kapil Sibal, who is contesting as an independent candidate backed by the Samajwadi Party.

All three of them had been isolated in the party after they wrote a letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in August 2020, demanding a revamp of the organization and an elected party president. Last month, Sonia had included Azad and Sharma in the party panels she had set up for the Chintan Shivir held in Udaipur from May 13-15.

Sibal, who had suggested that the Gandhis should make way for new leadership after the poll debacle in five states in March, was neither included in any of the six panels for the shivir nor was he invited to the mega conclave. The speculation in the grand old party now is whether Sonia Gandhi will send both Azad and Sharma to the Rajya Sabha again or one of them as she has to accommodate other veterans like P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Ambika Soni, Digvijay Singh and Mukul Wasnik.

Azad, a former leader of the opposition in the Upper House of Parliament, used to play an important role in reaching out to the various regional parties and forging opposition unity in the Rajya Sabha. Hence, he could be useful ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when Congress hopes to forge an anti-BJP coalition at the national level. Azad is also an important leader from the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sharma is the head of the party’s foreign affairs department and provides important inputs on the economy as well. The party high command also has to factor in the coming Himachal Pradesh assembly polls later this year. Keeping the tough contest against the ruling BJP in Himachal Pradesh in mind, the high command had made Sharma, who belongs to the hill state, head of the steering committee.

“Both Azad and Sharma have been included in the political affairs group set up by the Congress chief for the 2024 national polls. She will take a call in the Rajya Sabha seat matter,” a senior AICC functionary said on condition of anonymity. Between the two, Azad has an edge, said party insiders. The AICC functionary further said that Chidambaram, Soni and Ramesh too are important for the high command. Sonia Gandhi recently named Chidambaram as head of Task Force 2024, which also includes Ramesh.

Ramesh, who is eyeing the Rajya Sabha seat from Karnataka, on Thursday met the former Chief Minister and leader of the Opposition in the Assembly K Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru over the issue. Digvijay, who is a member of the political affairs group, was named by Sonia Gandhi as head of the panel to coordinate the proposed nationwide Bharat Jodo yatra starting October 2.

Besides, the leadership also needs to accommodate the aspirations of the younger lot, who have been working with the party for years and now hope to become members of the upper house of Parliament. The probable names in this lot are Ajay Maken, Jitendra Singh, Rajiv Shukla, Randeep Surjewala and Manish Chatrath among others.