For years, Meenakshi Natarajan has been one of the Congress’s low-profile leaders, known more for her simplicity and powerful oratory. However, after the recent controversy, which was triggered by the rejection of her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, she has been catapulted to the centre stage with the party deciding to give the leader a serious push towards prominence.
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As things stand now, Natarajan may have missed out on entering the Upper House from Madhya Pradesh. However, speculation is abuzz within the Grand Old Party that all is not lost. She could still find a route to the destination, this time from Telangana, where she is the AICC (All India Congress Committee) in-charge, sources told The Federal Telangana.
Congress top brass in talks
The sources said top Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and KC Venugopal, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy discussed the issue. Revanth discussed with the top brass the possibility of sending Natarajan to the Rajya Sabha from Telangana, the sources added.
It may be mentioned here that in 1998, Sonia, then the president of the Congress, was supposedly impressed with with Natarajan, who was then a student leader. The latter rose quickly through the ranks to become a close associate of Rahul. She also served as an MP in her 30s, from Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, and is known for maintaining a clean public image.
During the meeting in New Delhi, Revanth reportedly told the top leadership that he is willing to help Natarajan contest Rajya Sabha polls from Telangana.
Will Vem Narender Reddy pitch in?
Of Telangana’s seven Rajya Sabha seats, the Congress currently has four as against the BRS’s three. Its four MPs are Anil Kumar Yadav, Renuka Chowdhury, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vem Narender Reddy. Singhvi and Reddy assumed office only in April, while Yadav and Chowdhury have been serving in the Upper House since April 2024.
Also read: ‘I had no other option’: Why a Congress worker filed criminal case naming Meenakshi Natarajan
Vem Narender is considered to be particularly close to the Chief Minister. Before his election to the Rajya Sabha, he served as an adviser to Revanth’s government.
Per party sources, Revanth is prepared to have Vem Narender resign from his Rajya Sabha seat to make way for Natarajan. It is to be seen whether the high command gives its nod and a by-election is held for the woman leader to become a member of the Rajya Sabha from Telangana.
BRS slams Congress
Revanth’s stance may suggest that the Congress has put up a united fight for Natarajan, but the BRS is not convinced. KT Rama Rao, the party’s working president, lashed out at the state’s ruling party recently, saying no one else but the Congress’s factionalism was responsible for such an outcome.
He said the party should first investigate if details related to Natarajan’s case were leaked by party insiders and shared with the BJP, which raised the issue with the Returning Officer, resulting in the cancellation of the nomination.
Rama Rao even accused Revanth of backstabbing Natarajan. The Chief Minister, however, ruled out possibilities of sabotage and accused the BJP of indulging in “seat chorus” (theft of seat) on lines with the “vote chorus” allegations that his party has brought against the saffron camp related to recent elections, both Assembly and national.
Also read: Meenakshi Natarajan row: Telangana complainant alleges she’s being stalked
But the conspiracy theories were not entirely buried. According to one report, questions were being raised from within the Congress about how a private complaint made against Natarajan, in which she is just a respondent, reached Madhya Pradesh from Telangana. The BJP eventually won all three Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh.
About the case
Natarajan’s nomination was scrapped after the returning officer held that she had failed to disclose details of a court case in Telangana, rendering her nomination papers incomplete. It happened after a BJP minister complained that she had failed to disclose details of the case.
Revanth, Telangana Congress president Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud and several ministers have asserted that no such case has been registered against her. The Supreme Court also declined to intervene in the matter.
(The article was originally published in The Federal Telangana.)
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