New Delhi – The All India OBC Students Association (AIOBCSA) has strongly criticized the Congress party after its list of seven Rajya Sabha candidates for the 2026 biennial and bye-elections did not include a single representative from the OBC community.

The Congress list, approved by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and released on June 4, features four Brahmins, two Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, and one minority representative. The party has fielded:

• Mallikarjun Kharge (Karnataka)

• Pawan Khera (Karnataka)

• Mansoor Ali Khan (Karnataka)

• Meenakshi Natarajan (Madhya Pradesh)

• Neeraj Dangi (Rajasthan)

• Praveen Chakravarty (Tamil Nadu)

• Pranav Jha (Jharkhand)

In a sharp reaction, the AIOBCSA questioned how the party, which often champions social justice, could ignore the OBC category entirely for the Upper House.

“Not a single OBC eligible for Upper House to represent OBC issues? 4 Brahmins, 2 SCs and 1 Minority but no OBC. Representation Matters! OBC Representation Matters!” read a post from the AIOBCSA x handle.

The absence of an OBC face from the list is particularly notable given that the Congress has been attempting to rebuild its base among backward classes ahead of the next general elections. Critics within the party have also privately expressed concern that the move reinforces the perception of the Congress high command as being dominated by a narrow upper-caste leadership structure.

The AICC general secretary, K.C. Venugopal, issued the list on Thursday from the party’s 24, Akbar Road headquarters, stating that the candidates were approved by the Congress president.

Political analysts point out that while the Congress has included two SC candidates and a Muslim minority representative, the complete omission of the OBC bloc, a significant vote bank in states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan could prove costly.

“The Congress is sending a contradictory message. On one hand, it demands caste census and OBC quotas, but on the other, it fails to nominate even one OBC member to the Rajya Sabha from its own quota,” an AIOBCSA representative added.

The biennial elections to the Council of States are expected to take place later this month.