Cong's decision to pick Ranjeet Ranjan as RS candidate leaves some party leaders 'intrigued'

The choice of former Lok Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan as Rajya Sabha candidate from Chhattisgarh has come as a surprise for many as she pipped leaders like Kumari Selja to secure a seat from where the Congress can win.

It appears that her proximity to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, aggressive political pitch, need for a vocal woman MP in Rajya Sabha and positioning her in an otherwise leaderless Bihar united have tilted the scales in Ranjan’s favour.

Her name was not in the list of probable candidates, which included those of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Salman Khurshid, but the Congress president finally chose Ranjan, a 48-year-old leader from Bihar, to be the lone woman among the choices.

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While Selja, who is considered close to Sonia and now speculated to be given an assignment at the national level after being removed as Haryana Congress chief, did not manage to convince the leadership, Ranjan will be replacing Chhaya Verma, who has earned a name for herself by raising issues related to Chhattisgarh and putting up the Congress' viewpoint in the Parliament.

A section of the party leaders were “intrigued” by the choice of Ranjan, who is considered close to Sonia, and say that one of the reasons could be that the party might have thought of having a politically aggressive leader in Rajya Sabha. Some also point to the clout of her husband Pappu Yadav, a former MP, which could be leveraged by the party.

The move to pitch Ranjan from Chhattisgarh is also considered to be part of a plan to position her as a prominent leader in Bihar where the Congress is looking for a credible face. A seat in Rajya Sabha is expected to pump her profile up, a senior leader said.

Ranjan is also expected to fill the gap left by former Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev, who joined Trinamool Congress last year. Congress had plans to nominate Sushmita from Chhattisgarh in 2020 but then it had chosen KTS Tulsi. Sources said Sushmita was informed about the decision by Sonia herself earlier.