RAIPUR: The political landscape in Chhattisgarh has heated up following the notification for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections for two seats from the state, with the BJP announcing its candidate while the Congress is yet to finalise its nominee.
Currently, both seats are held by the Congress. However, given the present strength of the State Assembly, where the BJP holds 54 seats and the Congress 35 after the 2023 Assembly polls, the outcome is expected to see each party securing one seat.
The BJP has declared Lakshmi Verma, an OBC woman leader and resident of Simga block in Balodabazar, as its candidate. She joined the party in 1990, served as the state BJP vice president from 2021 to 2025, and is presently a member of the Chhattisgarh State Women Commission.
During every Rajya Sabha poll, the BJP has prioritised local candidates over “outsiders” to strengthen its grassroots organisation.
“BJP often relies and trusts the potential of local leaders who are given preference to contest for the Rajya Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh.
The state BJP proposes names and a final decision is taken by the party’s central leadership. Nomination of a woman leader symbolises focus on "Matrushakti”, the state BJP president Kiran Singh Deo told this newspaper.
The Congress, on the other hand, has sent leaders from other states to the Rajya Sabha from the Chhattisgarh quota on multiple occasions, including Mohsina Kidwai, Rajiv Shukla, Ranjeet Ranjan and KTS Tulsi.
It remains to be seen whether Congress will this time rely less on outside candidates for the upcoming polls. State leaders admitted they have limited options given the number of MLAs the party has in other states.
A group of Congress legislators has recently voiced opposition to the nomination of “outsider” candidates, demanding that the party leadership select a local leader from Chhattisgarh for the Upper House.
The dissent reportedly surfaced during a Congress Legislature Party meeting convened a few weeks ago to discuss the upcoming Assembly session and election strategy.
For both the BJP and the Congress, internal dynamics and caste equations are central to the Chhattisgarh Rajya Sabha contest.
The last date for filing nominations is March 5 and polling is scheduled for March 16.