Congress central body to pick candidate for TN Rajya Sabha seat: Chodankar

After TVK allotted a Rajya Sabha seat to its ally Congress in Tamil Nadu, party leader Girish Chodankar stated the candidate will be finalised by the central election authority. The election for the seat is scheduled to be held on June 18.

Following the allocation of a Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress in Tamil Nadu, Congress Tamil Nadu Election In-Charge Girish Chodankar had said that the party's candidate for the Upper House election would be finalised by the central election authority of the Congress. Speaking to ANI, Chodankar said the Congress high command would take a decision on the candidate for the seat allotted to the party. "Candidates' names are finalised only by the central election authority of the Congress party. The moment this seat is announced as a Congress seat, then we will request our central election committee to decide on our candidate," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) announced that it will allot its quota for the upcoming Rajya Sabha seat from Tamil Nadu to its alliance partner, Congress. The election for this seat is scheduled to be held on June 18, and the results will be declared the same day.

Wider Rajya Sabha Elections

Earlier, the Election Commission on Monday issued a notification for biennial elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats from ten states. This includes four seats each in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three seats each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two seats in Jharkhand, and one seat each in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya. The filing of nominations has begun, and the last date is June 8. Notification was also issued for the Rajya Sabha bypoll for a seat each in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

Goa House Proposed in Velankanni

Meanwhile, Chodankar also raised concerns regarding accommodation issues faced by Goan pilgrims visiting Velankanni and proposed the construction of a "Goa House" for their convenience. "There are a lot of pilgrims from Goa visiting Velankanni. They are facing some issues with accommodation. Something like a Goa house can be constructed there. They can allocate us some land, and then we can build it. I just put that request to the Chief Minister, and he was very happy that so many Goans are visiting here," he said. (ANI)

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