The Congress on Thursday released a list of seven candidates from six states for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

The party has nominated Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vem Narender Reddy from Telangana, and Phulo Devi Netam from Chhattisgarh. Vem Narender Reddy is an advisor to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, while Netam is an Adivasi leader from Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region.

It has also fielded Dalit leader Karamvir Singh Boudh from Haryana, Kangra district party chief Anurag Sharma from Himachal Pradesh and All India Congress Committee Secretary M Christopher Tilak from Tamil Nadu.

Earlier this week, the Bharatiya Janata Party nominated 13 candidates from seven states, including its national president Nitin Nabin and Union minister Ramdas Athawale, for the Rajya Sabha polls.

The BJP has nominated Nabin and Shivesh Ram from Bihar, Athawale, Vinod Tawde, Maya Chintaman Ivnate and Ramrao Wadkute from Maharashtra, and Jogen Mohan and Terash Gowalla from Assam.

It has also fielded Rahul Sinha from West Bengal, Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar from Odisha, Sanjay Bhatia from Haryana, and Laxmi Verma from Chhattisgarh.

On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that he will contest the Rajya Sabha elections. He is expected to step down as the chief minister if he wins the polls.

Elections to 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states are scheduled for March 16. Thursday was the last date of filing nominations for the polls.

Following these polls, another 34 vacancies are expected to arise in the Upper House over the remainder of the year.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar to contest Rajya Sabha polls