How Congress, BJP’S Rajya Sabha Picks Reflect Different Approaches, Priorities

After the TVK emerged as the single largest party in Tamil Nadu, the Congress was quick to snap its ties with the DMK and extend support to the TVK. Vijay first accommodated two of the five Congress MLAs in his government and then agreed to give a Rajya Sabha seat. Chakravarty has emerged a leading gainer from the Congress-TVK alliance but the break-up with the DMK has jeopardised the Congress’ bid for Opposition unity in Parliament. The DMK has refused to join the 8 June Opposition meet in New Delhi. In contrast, the BJP’s Rajya Sabha nominees mostly comprise leaders who have been working for the organisation for a long time—national general secretary Tarun Chugh from Punjab, former Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia, former Arunachal BJP president Tai Tagak who has worked for the party since his days in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1980s, Manipur BJP president Sharda Devi, and any many district-level leaders from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Polling for 24 Rajya Sabha—four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand and one each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram—will take place 18 June. The results will be out in the evening.