Chennai, June 5:
The Congress party on Thursday nominated senior leader Praveen Chakravarty as its candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu, following the resignation of former AIADMK MP C. Ve. Shanmugam.
The vacancy was allocated to the Congress by the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, as part of the post-poll alliance arrangement between the two parties. The move reflects the growing political coordination between the Congress and the TVK in the State.
Praveen Chakravarty, who currently serves as the chairman of the All India Professionals’ Congress, is considered a close confidant of both Chief Minister Vijay and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. His nomination is seen as a strategic choice by the Congress, given his policy background and organisational role within the party.
According to party sources, Chakravarty is expected to file his nomination papers on June 5. The announcement by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) came after a key meeting between AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar and Chief Minister Vijay held on Wednesday, where the candidature and alliance dynamics were discussed.
The election to the Upper House seat is scheduled to take place on June 18. With the support of the ruling alliance, Chakravarty is widely expected to secure an easy victory.
The development marks an important moment in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, underlining the evolving alliances in the State following the recent Assembly elections.