The race for the third Rajya Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh on June 18 looked to have early, albeit amid huge controversy, after Congress nominee Meenakshi Natarajan’s form was rejected on a complaint filed by BJP candidate Mahesh Kevat.Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination was rejected ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal has strongly criticised the decision. (ANI/PTI)Looking at the numbers, Madhya Pradesh’s third seat looked like an easy win for the Congress in the upcoming elections. Then, the surprise candidate from the BJP turned the whole election around. By the end of Tuesday, though, Kevat seemed to have the field clear.ALSO READ | Huge row after Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's RS nomination rejected in Madhya PradeshWho is Meenakshi Natarajan?A close aide of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Meenakshi Natarajan has long been part of the party’s organisational setup. She has earlier served as a president of the Youth Congress and also worked as a Congress general secretary.She completed her M.Sc in Biochemistry in 1994 from Devi Ahilya University, Indore, and later earned her LLB in 2002 from the same place, as per MyNeta data. She is a former Lok Sabha member from Mandsaur from 2009 to 2014.Rejection over alleged disclosure issueAccording to an MP assembly official speaking to news agency PTI, Natarajan’s nomination was rejected by the Returning Officer on grounds of alleged non-disclosure of information related to a case in her affidavit.The complaint was filed by BJP candidate Mahesh Kevat. His legal representative told reporters that a criminal case was pending against Natarajan in a Telangana court and that it was not disclosed in the nomination papers.The lawyer also claimed that the Returning Officer found multiple deficiencies in the form and rejected the nomination on that basis, as per PTI.ALSO READ | Who is Meenakshi Natarajan? Rahul Gandhi's OG team member at centre of RS nomination rowCongress alleges ‘seat chori’The Congress has strongly denied the charges and called the rejection politically motivated. It said there was only a notice issued to her in Telangana.Natarajan alleged that the BJP was “muzzling democracy and the Constitution” and claimed that what began as “vote chori (theft)” turned into "seat chori". She said the controversy started when the BJP fielded a third candidate despite inadequate numbers, and accused the party of attempting to undermine a united opposition.She said legal objections and arguments presented by their lawyers were not properly heard before a decision was taken.“We will challenge this,” she said.Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Sachin Pilot and Jairam Ramesh reached the Election Commission in Delhi to file a complaint against the rejection.Congress general secretary KC Venugopal strongly criticised the decision, calling it an attack on democracy and accusing the BJP of trying to manipulate the outcome.“The allegation of any error or non-disclosure in her nomination is complete humbug and a desperate attempt to snatch a seat from the INC,” he said. “They stooped so low as to reject her nomination when they realised that their dirty tricks to compromise our INC MLAs is going to fail,” he said.Venugopal also said the BJP had “no commitment to the Constitution,” and accused it of “vote chori” politics, adding that Congress would fight the matter legally and politically.Congress says no case, calls rejection invalidCongress’s Madhya Pradesh in-charge Harish Chaudhary said no criminal case has been filed against Natarajan, as per PTI. He said she had only received a show-cause notice, which does not require disclosure in the nomination affidavit.He also argued that EC rules require disclosure only when a case is formally filed, not at the notice stage, and therefore the rejection is not valid.ALSO READ | A surprise BJP candidate has turned Madhya Pradesh's Rajya Sabha race into a thrillerMadhya Pradesh elections 2026The BJP, with its strong majority in the 230-member Assembly, is already comfortable securing two Rajya Sabha seats. They then nominated Mahesh Kevat, who heads the state fishermen welfare board, as its third candidate against Natarajan.Along with him, senior leaders Tarun Chugh and Rajneesh Agrawal are also in the race for the party.Congress tries to show unityInside the Congress camp, the party had been holding legislature meetings in Bhopal and bringing together leaders from different factions to project unity behind Meenakshi Natarajan before her form was rejected.Senior leaders including Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, state Congress chief Jitu Patwari, and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar all publicly supported her candidature.Despite this, not everyone in the party appears fully comfortable. The first public sign of unease came from senior Congress leader Naresh Gyanchandani, who questioned the decision to field Natarajan instead of a more experienced veteran leader. He also warned that the choice could open the door to cross-voting in the election.After Natarajan filed her nomination, Gyanchandani resigned from the party, HT reported earlier. He later said his resignation came after his concerns, voiced through a social media post addressed to Rahul Gandhi, were not accepted by the state leadership. He added that he had served the party for 37 years and felt sidelined.Numbers game still tight but not comfortableCongress currently has 61 MLAs in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, while the BJP holds 163 seats in the 230-member House. Under the proportional representation system, a candidate needs 58 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat.While the BJP is comfortably placed for two seats, the third seat remains sensitive for both sides.To prevent last-minute surprises, the Congress earlier arranged for a chartered flight for its MLAs to shift to Karnataka, a Congress-ruled state, until the June 18 elections. Party leaders claimed that some MLAs were approached by the BJP with “bags full of money” ahead of the vote. The MLAs returned from the runway after Natarajan’s nomination was cancelled.(With inputs from HT's Shruti Tomar)