Overview
- The Supreme Court on Friday, June 12, 2026 dismissed Meenakshi Natarajan’s petition challenging the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination from Madhya Pradesh and told the Congress to pursue remedies through election‑petition routes in court.
- Electoral officials declared three BJP nominees — Tarun Chugh, Rajneesh Agarwal and Mahesh Kewat — elected unopposed after Natarajan’s papers were rejected during scrutiny and the window for new nominations closed.
- Congress leaders called the episode ‘seat chori’ and have staged protests in Delhi while saying they will file election petitions and other legal challenges to contest the returning‑officer and Election Commission decisions.
- Within Parliament the Trinamool Congress is facing a simultaneous crisis as a dissident group of roughly 19–20 Lok Sabha MPs has sought separate seating and three TMC Rajya Sabha MPs have resigned in recent days, increasing pressure on Mamata Banerjee’s leadership.
- Legal rules matter here because the 91st Constitutional Amendment and the Tenth Schedule limit formal recognition of splits unless two‑thirds of a party merge, so disputes over nominations and breakaway claims could change vote math without creating an immediate official party realignment.