Beat Report: The day Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha bid crashed

Congress's plan to move its MLAs to Bengaluru unravelled after Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination was rejected. The setback triggered legal questions, a Supreme Court move and a late-night protest outside the Election Commission office.

In Short

• Congress MLAs planned Bengaluru trip for Rajya Sabha elections
• BJP challenged Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination
• Nomination rejected over undisclosed pending case

By the time the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, Madhya Pradesh politics looked very different from what it had at sunrise.

What began as a carefully planned Congress operation to fly its MLAs to Bengaluru ended with the party's Rajya Sabha candidate disqualified, a chartered aircraft called back from the runway, and senior leaders staging a late-night protest outside the Election Commission office.

For nearly 15 hours, I witnessed a day of extraordinary political twists that transformed the Rajya Sabha election from a routine exercise into a full-blown political crisis.

AIRPORT OPERATION BENGALURU

When I reached Bhopal airport on Tuesday morning, Congress's strategy was already in motion. Party MLAs had been informed a day earlier that they would be shifted to Bengaluru for the coming days as the Rajya Sabha election process intensified.

Many legislators arrived straight from overnight shopping trips. Some had brought family members along, giving the impression that the next several days would resemble a political retreat mixed with a family getaway.

But the first sign that things were not going according to plan emerged almost immediately.

The special aircraft meant to transport Congress legislators had not arrived. Without the plane, boarding passes could not be issued. MLAs, their families and party functionaries were left waiting outside the airport in the oppressive June heat.

Congress leaders Arif Masood and Jaivardhan Singh spent hours coordinating logistics as frustration steadily mounted.

One hour passed. Then another. Then another. The aircraft was nowhere to be seen.

WAIT ENDS, REAL DRAMA BEGINS

At around 5 pm, after nearly four-and-a-half hours of waiting, the chartered flight finally landed in Bhopal. Exhausted legislators began moving into the airport, preparing to board.

Then came the political bombshell.

News spread that the BJP had challenged the nomination papers of Congress Rajya Sabha candidate Meenakshi Natarajan. The objection centred on allegations that she had failed to disclose a pending case in her nomination documents.

The mood changed instantly.

Senior Congress leaders, including Jitu Patwari, Umang Singhar and Natarajan, rushed from the airport to the Assembly as scrutiny of the nomination papers intensified.

Sensing the significance of the development, I too headed to the Assembly.

TWO HOURS OF LEGAL AND POLITICAL COMBAT

Inside the Assembly premises, what followed was a high-stakes battle fought simultaneously on political and legal fronts.

For nearly two hours, BJP and Congress leaders argued their respective cases while the Returning Officer examined the nomination documents and objections.

The atmosphere was tense. Both camps understood that the decision would determine not just the fate of a candidate but potentially the trajectory of the entire Rajya Sabha contest.

Then, at around 6.30 pm, came the verdict.

The Returning Officer rejected Natarajan's nomination.

CELEBRATION IN ONE CAMP, SHOCK IN ANOTHER

The ruling instantly altered the political mood.

BJP leaders broke into celebration. Senior leaders including Kailash Vijayvargiya, Rakesh Singh and Rameshwar Sharma appeared visibly jubilant as news of the decision spread through the Assembly complex.

The Congress camp, meanwhile, was left stunned.

What had started as a day focused on managing MLAs had suddenly become a battle for political survival.

THE PLANE THAT NEVER TOOK OFF

The fallout was immediate.

Back at the airport, the chartered aircraft carrying Congress MLAs had already begun moving towards the runway.

Then came an extraordinary reversal.

The flight was called back.

MLAs and their family members were asked to disembark. The Bengaluru operation, meticulously planned for days, collapsed within minutes.

A political strategy designed to prevent any possibility of cross-voting or defections was abruptly abandoned.

INSIDE CONGRESS HEADQUARTERS

Following the setback, Natarajan and senior Congress leaders moved to the state party headquarters, where emergency meetings continued through the evening.

At around 7.30 pm, Congress leaders addressed the media, questioning both the Election Commission's handling of the matter and the process that led to the rejection of the nomination.

The party announced that it would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Later, around 9 pm, I entered a small hall on the third floor of the Congress office.

The contrast with the charged atmosphere of the Assembly was striking.

The room was quiet.

Natarajan sat alongside senior party leaders. The disappointment was evident, but so was the determination to fight back.

When the crowd thinned, I asked her whether she would discuss the events that had unfolded.

She agreed.

Natarajan argued that the controversy emerged only after the BJP realised that the Congress Legislature Party remained united and there was little scope for political poaching.

She maintained that the case cited against her had neither been taken cognisance of by a court nor converted into a formal criminal proceeding.

According to her, the issue was less about law and more about political intent.

She alleged that democratic processes were being undermined and raised serious questions about the impartiality of the Election Commission.

THE MIDNIGHT PROTEST

Even then, the day was not over.

As night fell, Congress leaders and workers marched to the Election Commission office in Bhopal's Arera Hills.

State Congress chief Jitu Patwari, Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar, state in-charge Harish Chaudhary and other senior leaders launched a sit-in protest against the rejection of Natarajan's nomination.

The protest continued for nearly two hours and ended close to midnight.

ONE DAY, MANY QUESTIONS

Thus ended one of the most dramatic days in recent Madhya Pradesh politics.

In the span of 15 hours, the story moved from an airport waiting area to the Assembly, from a silent room at Congress headquarters to a protest site outside the Election Commission.

A flight was arranged, delayed and cancelled. A nomination was scrutinised and rejected. Political celebrations and accusations followed.

But even after midnight, one question lingered over Bhopal's political landscape:

Was Natarajan's nomination rejected because of a genuine technical lapse, or was it part of a larger political battle whose consequences are only beginning to unfold?

- Ends