Rajya Sabha Polls Pose Challenge for Congress

Telangana is preparing for the Rajya Sabha elections on March 16 to fill two seats that will become vacant on April 9. However, the ruling Congress party is now facing uncertainty over its plan to win both seats.

One of the seats is currently held by senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is expected to be nominated again by the party. The other seat is held by K. Suresh Reddy of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS).

Until recently, Congress leaders were confident that they would win both seats easily because of their strength in the 119-member Telangana Assembly. The party believed its numbers were enough for a clean sweep. But the situation changed after reports suggested that BRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) may field a candidate for one of the seats.

The BRS has been struggling after facing major defeats in recent elections. In the 2023 Assembly elections, the party’s strength dropped sharply from 88 seats in 2018 to 39 seats. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it failed to win any seats. It also performed poorly in the February municipal elections, securing only 28.75 percent of the vote compared to Congress’s 39.8 percent.

For the BRS, the Rajya Sabha election is seen as an opportunity to regain political importance and show that it remains a strong force in the State. If BRS contests seriously, what looked like a 2-0 victory for Congress could turn into a 1-1 result.

On paper, the BRS currently has 37 MLAs, which is four short of the 41 votes needed to win a Rajya Sabha seat. However, if the BRS and the BJP decide to support each other, their combined strength could reach 45 votes, which would be enough to win one seat. Whether such cooperation will happen remains uncertain.

The outcome of the election will depend on how parties manage their numbers and alliances in the coming days.