Ex-PM Manmohan Singh may be nominated to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh may be re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Congress from Rajasthan, party sources said. The Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan fell vacant after the death of BJP leader Madan Lal Saini on June 24. He was elected to the Upper House last year. With the Congress in majority in Rajasthan, the party is likely to win the seat.

The party, sources said, is actively considering nominating Singh for the lone seat and if elected, he will have a Rajya Sabha term up to April 3, 2024. The Election Commission on Thursday issued a statement listing out the schedule of election for filling up the Rajya Sabha seat in Rajasthan.

The election to the seat will be held on August 26 and the result will be declared on the same day after counting. The notification for the election will be issued on August 7.

August 14 will be the last date of nominations and after scrutiny on August 16, candidates can withdraw their application till August 19. Singh has been a five-time Rajya Sabha member from Assam and has been a member of the Upper House for almost three decades. His term came to an end on June 14.

There has been no vacancy for the Congress after that and Singh could not be re-nominated as the party is not in power in the northeastern state. Meanwhile, the Election Commission also declared that election will be held for one Rajya Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh on August 26, with the same schedule as that for Rajasthan.

The seat had fallen vacant after Neeraj Shekhar resigned his seat on July 15, 2019. Shekhar, the son of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar was a Samajwadi Party leader and has since joined the BJP.