Bhopal, India — Former Congress Member of Parliament Meenakshi Natarajan has announced that she is preparing to move the Madhya Pradesh High Court by filing an election petition challenging the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination. Speaking at a press conference in Bhopal, she said legal experts are reviewing the case before the petition is formally submitted.
Natarajan maintains that the nomination was rejected on legally unsound grounds. According to her, the nomination form did not include any section requiring disclosure of the notice cited by election officials. She argues that the absence of such a requirement makes the rejection unjustified.
The Congress leader also criticized the handling of the case, alleging inconsistent treatment of candidates. She pointed to an example from another state where a candidate was reportedly allowed additional time to correct nomination documents, while claiming she was not given a similar opportunity.
Her nomination for the Rajya Sabha election was rejected on 9 June 2026 after the Returning Officer stated that her affidavit failed to disclose information related to a pending criminal complaint before a Hyderabad court. Congress has disputed that reasoning, asserting that the matter involved a private complaint rather than a registered FIR, with no summons issued and no court taking cognizance of the complaint.
The dispute previously reached the Supreme Court, which dismissed Natarajan's petition on 12 June 2026, observing that the appropriate legal remedy would be an election petition after the election process concluded.
Beyond the nomination dispute, Natarajan used the press conference to criticize the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, raising concerns about education, farmers' rights, land issues, and governance. The BJP has not responded within this article to the specific allegations made during the press conference.
With preparations underway for the High Court filing, the case is expected to remain under close legal and political scrutiny in the coming weeks.
