If Haryana Congress accepts this demand of Surjewala-Shailaja, will Kharge's 'chair' be in danger? Read the full report

Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala and Lok Sabha MP Kumari Shailaja's ambition to contest for the Haryana legislative assembly may prove to be costly for the Congress party. Two reasons are being given for this. The first reason is that the position of Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajya Sabha is in danger due to the numbers and the second reason is the number 99 in Lok Sabha. Despite making several efforts for the last three months, Congress is not able to go beyond 99 seats.

Lok Sabha MP Kumari Shailja and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala want to contest the elections from Sirsa. Both are contenders for the post of CM. Shailja has openly expressed this claim.

Surjewala wants to contest from traditional Kaithal and Shailja wants to contest from Sirsa or any seat of Ambala. Surjewala and Shailja are also considered close to the Gandhi family.

It is also being said that both these leaders are afraid that if they leave the electoral field of Haryana, then Bhupinder Singh Hooda can make his son Deepender the Chief Minister if the Congress government is formed.

Rohtak Lok Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda is much junior to Surjewala and Shailja. It is being said that due to all these concerns, Surjewala and Shailja have recently contacted Rahul Gandhi.

Both the leaders have asked Rahul for permission to contest for the legislative elections. It is being said that Rahul has given positive assurance to both of them.

How many seats does Congress have in Rajya Sabha?

According to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Congress currently has 26 MPs in the Upper House, which is one more than the 25 MPs required for the Leader of the Opposition. There are a total of 245 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. Out of these, 233 become MPs through election and 12 through nomination. 10 percent of the total number of MPs is required for the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. That means it is mandatory to have 25 MPs for the post of Leader of the Opposition.

The tenure of 8 Congress MPs is till April 2026. The tenure of the other 18 MPs is till 2028 and 2030. Congress has the maximum number of MPs - 5 each from Rajasthan and Karnataka, 4 from Chhattisgarh and 3 each from Maharashtra and Telangana.

Apart from Karnataka, Congress has lost government in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Congress has recently lost 2 seats in Rajya Sabha due to its MPs going to Lok Sabha.

What impact will it have if Surjewala goes?

If Randeep Singh Surjewala contests the assembly elections and wins, he may have to leave his Rajya Sabha membership. Surjewala is currently a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan and there is a BJP government there. BJP will win the by-election to be held in Surjewala's vacant seat.

In such a situation, one seat will be reduced from the Congress's account, due to which Mallikarjun Kharge's post of Leader of Opposition will reach the danger mark. After this, if one or two MPs move here and there, then the post of Leader of Opposition can also be snatched from Kharge.

Earlier also, due to lack of numbers, Congress did not get the status of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

Congress has a fear of this too

If Surjewala and Shailja contest for the MLA post and leave the MP post, then this trend can start in the party. Assembly elections are to be held in Maharashtra and Bihar next year. The MPs here can also put pressure on the high command to get a big post in state politics.

At present, the Congress is neither in a position to win every by-election nor is it in a position where its number game will not be affected much if its MPs leave the House.

Congress had recently joined hands with Sangli MP Vishal Patil and Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav to end the 99 problems, but in the meantime, the party suffered a setback in Nanded.

Nanded MP Vasant Chavan has passed away. Similarly, there is no possibility of the election for the Wayanad seat vacated by Rahul Gandhi. Congress is stuck at 99 despite the support of 2 independent MPs.