News Brief
Hollow Pride? Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Faces Public Ire For Nominating Non-Kannadiga Ajay Maken For Rajya Sabha From State
Senior Congress Leader Ajay Maken (Hardik Chhabra/India Today Group/Getty Images)
The Congress party has selected Ajay Maken, Syed Nasir Hussain, and GC Chandrasekhar as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka as per a report by Deccan Herald.
L Hanumanthaiah, the sitting MP from Karnataka, was not renominated, and instead, the party chose to field Congress Treasurer Ajay Maken, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi.
The decision to nominate Ajay Maken from Karnataka has since then attracted much criticism.
Many social media users have criticised Karanataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah who is known for speaking about his Kannada pride, for nominating a non-Kannadiga to represent the state in Rajya Sabha.
Notably, Ajay Maken had earlier lost elections for the Rajya Sabha seat from Haryana to Kartikeya Sharma, who contested as an independent candidate backed by the BJP and its ally Jannayak Janata Party.
This announcement coincided with Sonia Gandhi filing her nomination from Rajasthan, marking the end of her 25-year-long electoral journey.
Congress aims to secure 10 out of 56 Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs on 27 February, expecting to increase its tally from nine.
In Karnataka, two of the three sitting MPs were renominated, while Nasir, also a Congress Working Committee member and party's Whip in Rajya Sabha, retained his seat.
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