The Hindu : National : Many upset over RS nominee

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National

Many upset over RS nominee

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The choice of Prabha Thakur, the newly appointed national president of the Mahila Congress, for party re-nomination for the lone winnable Rajya Sabha seat for the Congress in Rajasthan, may have come as a double blessing to the Rajasthani poet, but it has disappointed the Muslim community in the State. As there has been already a feeling that Muslims are under-represented in the Congress leadership, the community this time was hoping for a membership in Parliament through an RS nomination.

As the BJP selected its nominees-- Omprakash Mathur and Gyan Prakash Pilania -- for the two seats for the party keeping an eye on the Assembly elections in the State scheduled later in the year, the Congress decision on Ms. Thakur came as a surprise -- especially considering that she was rewarded by the party post.

Three retiring

Ms.Thakur is among the three Rajya Sabha MPs from the State scheduled to retire next month. The other two are former Union Minister Natwar Singh and Dr.Pilania. Ms.Thakur has represented Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency once.

The BJP has a Muslim member -- Najma Heptullah -- from Rajasthan in the Rajya Sabha. Those who were in the race for the Congress nomination included Emamuddin Ahmed Khan, who was a RS member from July 1998 to December 2003 and Asq Ali Tak, a former Minister.

As the BJP decided to re-nominate Dr.Pilania, the patron of the Jat Mahasabha, who helped the party with Jat votes in the previous Assembly polls, a section of Jats in the Congress had demanded nomination for a leader from the community with the argument that a Jat (Natwar Singh) should be replaced with another Jat. The BJP sources however explained that Dr.Pilania was given a second term as his previous tenure was on the basis of a by-election. The BJP decision to nominate Mr.Mathur was reportedly against the wishes of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

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