Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, faced a setback as her nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh was rejected by the returning officer on Tuesday.
The nomination was cancelled after BJP candidate Mahesh Kewat submitted a complaint claiming Natarajan had concealed information regarding a case filed against her in Telangana.
Natarajan is a former Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the Mandsaur constituency in Madhya Pradesh from 2009 to 2014.
She has been considered a close aide of Rahul Gandhi since he formally entered the Congress in 2004 and was one of the leaders he brought into his inner circle to revamp the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and the Indian Youth Congress (IYC).
Natarajan alleged that the BJP was engaging in "seat theft" and accused the party of muzzling democracy and the Constitution.
Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said the party had sought an appointment with the Election Commission and urged them to intervene in the matter.
