Kapil Sibbal quits Congress, files RS nomination with SP support

Samajwadi Party has decided to support senior lawyer and former Congress leader Kapil Sibbal for Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. Kapil Sibal filed his nomination for Rajya Sabha elections on Wednesday, in presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav and MP Ram Gopal Yadav. Elections for 11 seats of Upper House are scheduled in the state. Sibal announced his departure from Congress shortly after filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections as an independent candidate with the backing of SP. The former Union Minister said, he had tendered his resignation to the party on May 16. Speaking to the media after filing the nomination, Sibal said,  I am not a Congress leader anymore. “While being in Opposition, we want to create an alliance so that we can oppose the Modi govt. We want that in 2024, an atmosphere is created where the faults of the Modi government reach the people. We will try for that,” Sibal added.

Sibal’s term along with others was to end on July 4. Of the 11 seats that fall vacant on July 4, five are of the BJP, four of the SP, two of BSP and one of Congress. However, this time around, the Congress, which has only two members in the Assembly, and the BSP, which has one member, may not be able to get their candidates elected to the Upper House. Of the 245 seats in the Rajya Sabha, 31 members are elected from Uttar Pradesh.