Rajya Sabha elections: Congress renominates Chhattisgarh MP Phulo Devi Netam

Senior tribal leader Phulo Devi Netam has been re-nominated by the Congress for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

Of the two seats that will go to polls in Chhattisgarh on March 16, 2026, one belonged to Ms. Netam and the other belonged to KTS Tulsi. While Ms. Netam’s name was announced by the Congress on Wednesday night (March 4, 2026), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated OBC leader Lakshmi Verma for the biennial elections on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

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The party-wise arithmetic in the state’s Legislative Assembly is such that both parties will be able to elect one member each to the Rajya Sabha.

Ms Netam (54) hails from Kondagaon district in the tribal district of Bastar. Current State Congress president Deepak Baij also hails from Bastar. Ms Netam was MLA between 1998 and 2003.

Currently, he is also the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee, a position he has held for almost a decade. He held many important positions in the party and public life.

Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel congratulated Ms. Netam on X. “Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to the daughter of Bastar on the re-nomination of Phulo Devi Netam, an energetic leader, Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP, for the Rajya Sabha elections by the All India Congress Committee. We are confident that you will continue to vigorously raise issues of public interest in the Upper House of Parliament and fight determinedly for the election people, as you have done before,” he wrote.