Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan said it was evident that her seat was “stolen” and asserted that "we are ready to fight” after the Supreme Court dismissed her plea challenging the rejection of her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls.
Natarajan said it was not a question about "personal defeat" but more worrisome were the "shocks that democracy is repeatedly receiving".
Dismissing Natarajan's plea challenging rejection of her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh, a bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar said it has not observed anything on the merits of the case.
On the Supreme Court ruling, Natarajan said: "We will see the order of the court and only then I can comment. What I understand is that they stated that there is an election petition for this."
She also said MLAs wanted to meet President Droupadi Murmu but were not allowed to do so.
Natarajan alleged that the Election Commission was "compromised and complicit".
Madhya Pradesh leader of Opposition Umang Singhar criticised the President's Office for allegedly declining the Congress’s request for a meeting.
"The President is the President of the country and not of any particular political party,” Singhar told ANI. “The manner in which an email was sent refusing to meet us makes it clear that she is working as an agent of the BJP. Does the President not want to save democracy? Does she not want to stand with the country so that every minister and MP can freely contest elections? Does she not want to stand with the sentiments of the nation? I want to ask this.”
Asked whether she would approach the high court, Natarajan told reporters: "I will not decide this, my party will decide. I was a party candidate and whatever the party and its leaders decide, we follow.
"We are ready to fight, the whole party is together,” she said. “Seat chori [theft] is very apparent and it is before everyone. It is seat chori, everybody knows that. We all know that there is one law for a person from the corporate world and another for those fighting for constitutional principles.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had on Thursday alleged that after “vote chori” and “sarkar chori”, the BJP was involved in “seat chori” in the Rajya Sabha elections, and the ruling party’s “jugalbandi” with the Election Commission finished the contest even before it started.
“After 'vote chori' and 'sarkar chori', the BJP-EC jugalbandi has finished the contest before it has even begun with 'seat chori',” Rahul said in a post on X.
"Look at what happened in the Rajya Sabha elections. Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan ji submitted every document. No pending cases. The EC cancelled her nomination on BJP’s frivolous objection,” he said.
Citing the case of Parimal Nathwani, the BJP-backed Independent Rajya Sabha nominee in Jharkhand, Rahul said he got his own name wrong on the form and skipped multiple mandatory disclosures, “yet the EC gave him an extension to fix everything”.
"Same Election Commission. Two candidates. One was disqualified without even a hearing. The other was rewarded despite not following the rules," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged.
“When the Congress sought a meeting, the EC first tried to evade us. When we finally met, they did not say one word. Expect to see much more of this - because for the BJP, it is far easier to fix the election than to win it,” Gandhi said.
Congress leader K.C. Venugopal also criticised what he called the double standards in the election process after Natarajan’s nomination was rejected while NDA-backed Independent Rajya Sabha candidate Parimal Nathwani’s papers were accepted allegedly despite errors.
The Congress has reportedly also challenged Nathwani's nomination papers; the Election Commission has yet to make a decision on this matter.
Delhi police on Friday detained several Congress leaders and workers from Madhya Pradesh who were marching towards Rashtrapati Bhavan to protest against the rejection of Natarajan's nomination, officials said.
A Congress leader being detained by the police during a protest march from AICC office to the President's House against the rejection of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination for the Rajya Sabha election from Madhya Pradesh, in New Delhi, Friday, June 12, 2026. PTI picture
Police have detained Congress Madhya Pradesh president Jitu Patwari and leader of Opposition in the Assembly Singhar after they climbed over barricades and raised slogans against the Election Commission.
"The BJP has declared dictatorship in the country,” Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh said at the protest.
“Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination form should be accepted. We approached the Election Commission but did not get justice, and the Supreme Court did not grant us time. We will continue our agitation until Meenakshi Natarajan gets justice."
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari, centre, stands atop a barricade during a protest march. PTI picture
Natarajan's nomination was rejected during scrutiny and the Congress cannot field another candidate now since the last date of filing nominations was June 8.
Elections are being held for 24 Rajya Sabha seats, along with by-elections for three others.
The Congress stands to gain two seats in Karnataka and one in Tamil Nadu, while facing a loss of one seat in Gujarat. The party had hoped to secure one seat each from Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, but these latest developments deal a significant blow to those prospects.
The party also faces a major challenge in Jharkhand, from where businessman Nathwani has filed his nomination as an Independent candidate with the support of the NDA, challenging the official candidate, Pranav Jha.
Although the ruling JMM alliance has the numbers to ensure the victory of both its candidates, the state has a history of cross-voting.