Congress likely to nominate Manmohan Singh to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan, after EC' by-election announcement

In yet another bid at the Rajya Sabha, sources have reported on Friday that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is likely to be nominated by the Congress party from Rajasthan. Manmohan Singh's tenure in Rajya Sabha expired on June 15. He was elected from Assam in the upper house.  On Thursday, the Election Commission announced by-elections on two Rajya Sabha seats on August 26, according to PTI.

One seat from Rajasthan fell vacant due to the death of BJP’s Madan Lal Saini in June. Meanwhile, by-elections for Uttar Pradesh the second seat was necessitated due to Samajwadi Party MLA Neeraj Shekhar who quit his Rajya Sabha seat in mid-July before he switched from SP to BJP.

Chandrayaan-2 Launch | "Really Demeaning," Says BJP's Sambit Patra Hitting Back At Congress For Crediting ISRO's Success To Nehru & Manmohan Singh

DMK snubbed Cong request

Previously on July 1, in a shocking snub to ally Congress, DMK announced its list of Rajya Sabha nominations, failing to heed to the grand old party's alleged request to nominate former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh as a Rajya Sabha member from the state, as per sources.

Earlier on June 20, the Congress party had demanded a Rajya Sabha seat for former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, as per sources. 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.

Big Embarrassment: DMK Snubs Congress' Rajya Sabha Seat Request For Former PM Manmohan Singh, Nominates 2 Of Its Own Members & 1 From MDMK

Manmohan Singh's RS tenure ends

On June 15,  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.

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.