Veteran Congress leader A K Antony will not seek re-election to Rajya Sabha. The former defence minister informed his decision to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in a letter. He thanked the party chief for all the opportunities given to him.
Antony's tenure in the Upper House of the Parliament ends on April 2. Elections to the three Rajya Sabha seats in Kerala, which will fall vacant, will be held on March 31. The terms of CPM's K Somaprasad and M V Shreyams Kumar will also end on April 2.
Antony, a three time Kerala Chief Minister, holds the record for being the longest serving Defence Minister from 2006 to 2014. He is set to shift back to Kerala once his tenure ends.
Antony has been in the Upper House from 2005 onwards and prior to that from 1985 to 1995. With Antony making his mind clear about not pursuing another term in Parliament, the state Congress will have to find another leader to fill the post.
With the ruling Pinarayi Vijayan government enjoying a full majority in the 140-member Assembly, it's a foregone conclusion that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will win two Rajya Sabha seats and there is going to be hectic bargaining as media baron Kumar who also heads the Loktantrik Janata Dal replacing his father M P Veerendra Kumar following his death in 2020, is keen to get a full term.
But with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan keen to consolidate his position in the national unit of the CPM, is keeping his cards close to his chest and might place his hands on both the seats to increase the red party's strength in Delhi, which is appallingly low with six in the Upper House and three in the Lok Sabha.
While five seats are falling vacant in Punjab, three are falling vacant in Kerala, two in Assam and one each in HP, Nagaland and Tripura.