The Congress has renominated senior tribal leader Phulo Devi Netam from Bastar as its candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections from Chhattisgarh. Polling for two seats is scheduled for March 16, 2026, with one being Netam's current position. The Bharatiya Janata Party named OBC leader Lakshmi Verma as its candidate.
The Congress announced Phulo Devi Netam's name on the night of March 4, 2026, while the Bharatiya Janata Party named Lakshmi Verma on March 3, 2026. The arithmetic in the state legislative assembly ensures that both parties will secure one member each in the Rajya Sabha.
Phulo Devi Netam (54) hails from Kondagaon district in the tribal pocket of Bastar. The current state Congress president Deepak Baij also comes from Bastar. Netam served as an MLA between 1998 and 2003. She has been the president of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee for almost a decade and has held several important positions in the party and public life.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel congratulated Netam on X. He wrote, “Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Bastar’s daughter, an energetic leader, president of the Chhattisgarh Mahila Congress and Rajya Sabha MP Phulo Devi Netam on being renominated for the Rajya Sabha elections by the All India Congress Committee. We are confident that you will continue to strongly raise issues of public interest in the Upper House of Parliament and fight decisively for the people, as you have done earlier.”
