Wednesday, March 15 2006 20:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Faced with a ticklish task, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to finalise the party nominations for Rajya Sabha elections tomorrow amid contrary pulls and pressures.

March 17 is the last date for filing nominations for the biennial elections scheduled on March 28 and Congress could have 14 members of the Upper House as against 20 retiring members of the party.

While the party has no strength to return even a single candidate from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, it would be sending maximum of four candidates from Andhra Pradesh.

Heavyweights likes Arjun Singh, H R Bhardrwaj, Dasari Narayan Rao and Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha Rehman Khan are among the retiring members amid talk that Singh would be re-nominated from his home state of Madhya Pradesh, while Bhardwaj could be shifted to Haryana.

A section of the Andhra Pradesh Congress is opposing renomination of Dasari Narayana Rao. Andhra Pradesh PCC Chief Keshav Rao is a prominent contender from the State while Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy is keen on nomination of his close associate Ramchandra Rao, who is Special Representative of the State government in Delhi enjoying Cabinet rank.

Rashid Alvi, who quit BSP to join Congress just ahead of Lok Sabha polls and was accommodated from Andhra Pradesh to the Upper House, is among the retiring members.

Former Union Minister C K Jafar Sharief

Former Union Minister C K Jafar Sharief figures as a prominent aspirant from Karnataka from where Rehman Khan is seeking renomination.

In Himachal Pradesh, PCC chief Viplav Thakur, Anil Sharma, son of former Telecom Minister Sukhram and Devi Cherian are among the aspirants for the lone seat.

From Maharashtra, the nomination of Sushilkumar Shinde appeared a certainty as he was made a Cabinet Minister recently after he resigned as Andhra Pradesh Governor.

There are number of aspirants for the second seat from Maharashtra including PCC chief Prabha Rau and several other former PCC chiefs and former MPs.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh is reportedly of the view that the second seat should be given to an outsider.

In Rajasthan, industrialists R P Goenka and Moolchand Meena, who is a tribal, are vying for the single seat from the state. Both are retiring members as also Jamunabai Barubal.

It appears to be a tussle between three dalit leaders in Gujarat where Raju Parmar is retiring. AICC secretary Yogendra Makhwana and former MP Pravin Rashtrapal are prominent aspirants.