Forget the heat and dust of a gruelling Lok Sabha campaign — there is a mad scramble within Congress ranks right now for a ‘‘safe’’ passage to the Rajya Sabha instead.Of the 23 seats falling vacant in the Upper House, elections will be held only for 13 on March 26 because of the dissolution of the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Assemblies (four members from Karnataka and six from Andhra are among the 23 retirees).The Congress can win just six of the 13 seats, but there are well over two dozen ‘‘hopefuls’’ in the fray, sources said. The names doing the rounds range from members of the ‘‘old guard’’ such as R K Dhawan and M L Fotedar to socialites like Devi Cherian.Of the six seats the Congress is slated to win, three are from Punjab and one each from Kerala, Assam and Himachal Pradesh.The keenness to get into the Upper House can be gauged from the fact that Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is reported to have a sent a list of 17 names to the high command. These include PCC chief Hanspal, former MP SukhbansKaur Bhinder and outgoing RS MP Ashwini Kumar.According to sources, the bitter fight between the Arjun Singh and Ambika Soni camps has also cast a shadow on the race. For instance, Kumar, who is hoping to get a renomination, is considered close to Arjun Singh while Bhinder is said to belong to the Soni camp. Both are unlikely to get a seat each when so many Punjab-based heavyweights are also in the fray.The ‘‘dark horse’’, sources said, could be former Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill. He has been offered a Lok Sabha seat from Punjab, but has so far shown reluctance to jump into the hurly burly of a Lok Sabha campaign. A Rajya Sabha seat, on the other hand, may be more up his street.Of the three vacancies from Kerala, the Congress, CPI(M) and Muslim League will win one each. The Muslim League has announced the name of Abdul Wahab and the CPI(M) will renominate Vijayaraghavan.The Congress’s decision is tied to the Lok Sabha seat distribution between the Karunakaran and Antony factions. In all likelihood, Karunakaran will be awarded the seat — in exchange of his support to the rival faction in the LS elections.For the lone seat from Himachal Pradesh, Anand Sharma is a front-runner. But Sharma, who is ready to fight an LS seat if given a ticket, has competition. One of those being talked about is Devi Cherian — wife of PR professional Dilip Cherian whose company Perfect Relations is handling part of the Congress’s election campaign. Devi, sources said, hails from a well-known Himachal political family — her late father Desraj Mahajan was a Congress minister and Speaker of the Himachal Assembly.A Congress leader, who did not want to be quoted, dismissed her as a ‘‘non-serious candidate’’ and said, ‘‘First we get Bollywood stars to campaign and now socialites want to enter the House of Elders — this is the ultimate trivialisation of the political debate.’’With the ‘‘domicile’’ clause now no longer required, one can be elected from a State without belonging to it. That has opened the floodgates, with the likes of Fotedar and Dhawan — and all the others who cannot win or do not want to take the risk of contesting a LS seat — making a bid for the Punjab, Assam and Himachal seats, sources said.
