Congress approaches ally DMK for former PM Manmohan Singh's Rajya Sabha seat; DMK considers request: Sources

In a major development, the Congress party has demanded a Rajya Sabha seat for former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. As per sources, Congress party which in alliance with the DMK has asked it for a seat so that former PM Manmohan Singh can contest the Rajya Sabha election.

This development comes after the massive poll debacle of the Congress party where the party lost its own bastion of Amethi and party chief Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani, now a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet. 

The Indian National Congress has a strength of 48 seats in the Rajya Sabha and MK Stalin led DMK has a strength of 3 seats in the upper house. Sources also added that the DMK is considering the demands of its ally, while the party has already promised one seat to MDMK chief Vaiko before the Lok Sabha elections 2019.The DMK clean sweep the elections in the state of Tamil Nadu after allying with Congress and other regional parties.

Manmohan Singh's tenure in Rajya Sabha expired on June 15. He was elected from Assam in the upper house.

End Of An Era: Parliament To Miss Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh As His 30-year-long Rajya Sabha Term Comes To An End

On Friday evening, for the first time in 28 years, former prime minister (PM) Manmohan Singh’s name ceased to be part of the list of members of the upper house of the Parliament on its website and was included in the list of former members of Parliament (MPs). With the Congress lacking the numbers in the Assam legislature to ensure his re-election, 86-year-old Singh retired from the Rajya Sabha on Friday. 

Singh, then finance minister in the P V Narasimha Rao government, had debuted in the House on October 1, 1991, from Assam and represented the state for five consecutive terms. Singh was the leader of the House during his 10 years as PM, and leader of the Opposition from 1998 to 2004.

READ: Former Prime Ministers Dr Manmohan Singh And HD Deve Gowda Will Not Be In Parliament This Budget Session. Here's Why