MUMBAI: Congress leaders are engaged in hectic lobbying to pitch themselves as the party nominee for the Rajya Sabha bypolls to be held to fill the seat vacated by Rajeev Satava, who died of Covid-19 recently. The bypoll to the Rajya Sabha seat is scheduled on October 4. Satava’s widow Pradnya Satav is one of the contenders for the party’s nomination. After the death Satav, Rahul Gandhi in a condolence meeting assured Pradnya Satav that the party will extend all possible support to the Satav family.
Interestingly, Pradnya Satav was also made the vice president of Maharashtra Congress recently.
Apart from Pradnya’s, other names doing rounds for party nomination is that of Rahul Gandhi’s close confidant Mukul Wasnik. Former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress MLA Prithviraj Chavan, Milind Deora, Sanjay Nirupam, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Avinash Pande and Rajeev Shukla are also in the fray.
Sources in the Congress said to win the bypolls, they need the support of the alliance partner the Nationalist Conrgess Party led by Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena. “The Congress party may finalise the name for Rajya Sabha bypolls, but there has to be a consensus among our alliance partners…then only can the Congress nominee get elected,” he added requested anonymity.