After Himachal Tie Loss, Abhishek Singhvi Up For Telangana Rajya Sabha Seat

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi has been nominated to contest the Rajya Sabha by-poll from Telangana, polling for which will be held on September 3. The by-poll was triggered by the resignation last month of ex-Bharat Rashtra Samithi MP K Keshava Rao, who quit to join the Congress.

In a statement issued Wednesday the Congress - which swept to power in the state in last year's election - said party boss Mallikarjun Kharge confirmed the pick. Taking to X shortly afterwards, Mr Singhvi wrote, "My sincere gratitude to Congress President (Mallikarjun) Kharge... Sonia (Gandhi) ji and Rahul (Gandhi) ji, to Priyanka (Gandhi) ji, and to all senior leadership for trust and faith reposed in me."

The Congress holds 64 of the state's 119 Assembly seats and victory for Mr Singhvi should be a formality. Should the expected happen it will mean the party's Rajya Sabha score inches up to 27.

It was 28 before the Lok Sabha election but then KC Venugopal and Deepender Hooda resigned to contest for Lower House seats. Mr Singhvi's (expected) win will also mean the Congress cements its claim to the Leader of the Opposition post in the Upper House, which is currently held by Mr Kharge.

The margin of that claim stands at just one, meaning that if two or more Congress Rajya Sabha MPs resigns before the Telangana by-poll, the opposition party could lost the LoP post.

However, victory was also expected for Mr Singhvi in Himachal Pradesh, from where he contested another Rajya Sabha election this year. Unfortunately, Mr Singhvi lost in contentious circumstances.

The senior Congress leader was pitted against the BJP's Harsh Mahajan.

The contest was unexpected given the Congress seemed to have the numbers to ensure Mr Singhvi's win; the party then held 40 of the state's 68 Assembly seats while the BJP had only 25. The three other lawmakers were independents, all of whom had sided with the BJP.

READ | "Defies Common Sense...": Singhvi Challenges Rajya Sabha Loss

However, when the votes were counted there was a remarkable tie - each had 34 votes.

This meant six Congress MLAs, apart from the three independents, voted for the BJP.

Under Election Commission rules the winner would have to be announced by a draw of lots. Mr Singhvi's name was drawn and the poll body declared him the loser, sparking a massive row.

The rules for draw of lots in a Rajya Sabha election says the name drawn first, while that for a Lok Sabha election is the reverse, a former Election Commission official told news agency PTI.

An enraged Congress and Mr Singhvi filed an appeal in the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

"There is nothing in the law... in the act or rules... which compels an interpretation that requires the person whose name is drawn is the loser," he said after filing his petition.

"It defies common sense, tradition, and practices... anywhere in the world... that whenever there is a tie between two people, the person whose name is drawn...should be the winner..." he said.

READ |6 Congress MLAs Out, Himachal's Ruling Party Back From Brink

The blow to Mr Singhvi aside, the Rajya Sabha poll defeat plunged the Congress into a political crisis in the state after the six MLAs who cross-voted were disqualified and then joined the BJP.

The three independents also joined the saffron party.

The disqualification of the six was crucial for the Congress to retain majority in the hill state, as it brought down the effective strength of the House from 68 to 62 and the majority mark to 32.

The Congress, minus those six MLAs, has 34.

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