Will Sonia shift to Upper House?

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi may contest a Rajya Sabha seat, preferably from north India, two senior Congress leaders indicated on Monday, even as they said a final decision would be taken shortly.

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If Gandhi settles for a Rajya Sabha seat, it would be the first stint in the Upper House for the 77-year-old leader, who is a five-term lawmaker of the Lok Sabha.

Top Congress leaders including Gandhi, the party's national alliance committee members Mukul Wasnik and Salman Khurshid, and treasurer Ajay Maken met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence to discuss the names of party candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections on February 27. General secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal was also present in the meeting on Monday.

"No decision has been taken in the meeting but detailed discussions have taken place," said a leader who asked not to be named. The presence of Wasnik and Khurshid also indicated that the leaders discussed the ongoing seat adjustments between the Congress and INDIA partners. The Congress is yet to announce any candidate for the biennial elections for 56 seats from 15 states. The last date for filing nominations is February 15. They are likely to win 11 seats in total.