Two former Union ministers from Karnataka are actively lobbying for the Rajya Sabha seat to be vacated by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman K. Rahman Khan on April 2, while its original beholder Mr Khan has reportedly expressed his willingness to retain the post.
Former Union railway minister C.K. Jaffer Sharief and former Union minister for civil aviation CM Ibrahim are the frontrunners for the Rajya Sabha election, which is due on March 30.
“If the Congress decides that I should contest for a Rajya Sabha seat, then I will be more than happy to use my knowledge and experience to serve the nation,” Mr Sharief told this newspaper.
Mr Sharief, who was very instrumental for the standardisation of the railway tracks, has been camping in the capital to ensure a ticket for himself for the Rajya Sabha election, for which Monday is the last date for filing nominations.
Sources close to Karnataka Congress leader and the Opposition leader in the state Assembly Siddaramaiah confirmed that the party was considering the names of Mr Sharief and Mr Ibrahim, apart from Mr Khan himself. Meanwhile, Mr Siddaramaiah, along with Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara, met AICC president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday.