Congress Candidate’s Rajya Sabha Bid Rejected Over Undisclosed Case, June 11

Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination for a Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha seat was rejected on June 10, 2026 after the Returning Officer found she omitted details of a criminal case from her nomination affidavit. The case, registered in Telangana in 2022, involves allegations of abuse and coercion in a personal relationship. The rejection has triggered accusations of electoral bias from Congress leaders, who claim the Election Commission applied rules unequally against opposition candidates.

Why the Nomination Was Rejected

Natarajan failed to mention a private complaint filed against her in a Hyderabad court in August 2025. The complaint traces back to a 2022 criminal case in Telangana where a woman alleged abuse, coercion, intimidation and exploitation during a personal relationship. Although Natarajan was not named in the original case, her name appears in the subsequent private complaint. The Returning Officer cited this omission as grounds for rejection during nomination scrutiny on June 10.

Congress Alleges Double Standards

Congress leaders claim the Election Commission applied rules inconsistently. They point to a BJP-backed independent candidate, Parimal Nathwani, in Jharkhand who was granted a deadline to rectify nomination deficiencies, while Natarajan’s nomination was rejected outright. Congress leaders met with the Election Commission on June 10 demanding restoration of her candidature and rejection of Nathwani’s nomination. The party vowed to challenge the decision in court.

Internal Party Tensions

Natarajan’s candidature created discord within Congress itself. Senior Madhya Pradesh state leader Naresh Gyanchandani publicly questioned the decision and raised concerns about cross-voting by Congress legislators before resigning from the party on June 9. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Yadav claimed Congress members with competing interests in the seat deliberately caused errors in her nomination form. Natarajan is a former Youth Congress president and former Lok Sabha MP from Haryana, regarded as close to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.

Rajya Sabha Elections Proceed Across States

Voting for Rajya Sabha seats occurred in Haryana on June 10, where BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia and Congress’s Karamvir Singh Boudh won the two contested seats. Five votes were declared invalid. The Indian National Lok Dal, with two members in the 90-member assembly, abstained from voting. BJP has announced nine candidates across six states for the 2026 biennial elections, with nominations closing on June 11.

Final Thoughts

Natarajan’s rejection raises questions about electoral fairness and the Election Commission’s application of nomination rules. Congress’s legal challenge will test whether procedural errors warrant outright rejection versus opportunities to correct deficiencies.

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