Congress is likely to field Satish Kumar Sharma, who is considered to be close to the Gandhi family, as its candidate for the biennial poll to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
The election to fill 11 Rajya Sabha seats from UP is scheduled for June 17. The strength of the Congress in the state Assembly is 20 and it needs 14 more votes to win a seat. In a bid to send its lone candidate to the Rajya Sabha from the state, the party is already in talks with Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has 10 members in the state Assembly.
“The party’s senior leaders are in touch with Ajit Singh in New Delhi. Congress will first get a concrete assurance from RLD and then declare the name of its candidate,” said a source.
Sharma is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Uttarakhand and his term will end on July 4.
According to sources in the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), the party leadership wants Sharma to get elected from Uttar Pradesh.
