What began as a battle over whether Congress could keep its Madhya Pradesh legislators together ended with the party losing its Rajya Sabha candidate altogether. On Tuesday, Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination to the Upper House of Parliament was rejected, delivering a significant victory to the BJP after days of political manoeuvring, legal challenges and an aggressive campaign that put the opposition on the defensive.

The rejection comes days after the BJP upended the election by fielding a third candidate, Mahesh Kevat, against Natarajan and then mounting a legal challenge to her nomination papers.

The development came after the Congress spent much of Tuesday focused on moving its legislators to Karnataka, where it is in power. The party leadership had decided to shift MLAs out of Madhya Pradesh amid concerns that BJP leaders were attempting to contact them before the Rajya Sabha election. But the flight to Karnataka was delayed by several hours, and the legislators had to wait outside the Raja Bhoj airport with their suitcases. By the time they got permission to board in the evening, the BJP had dealt the blow, and the legislators had to return from the airport.

A total of 62 Congress legislators were supposed to fly out to Karnataka. While the BJP currently has 165 MLAs in the Assembly, sufficient to win two seats, to ensure Kewat’s victory in the third seat, it needed to secure 9 to 11 additional votes.

At the centre of the row was an objection filed by BJP state general secretary Rahul Kothari, who alleged that Natarajan had failed to fully disclose details of a case in the affidavit submitted with her nomination papers.

In a representation to the Returning Officer, Kothari pointed to a private complaint pending before a court in Hyderabad.

Returning Officer Arvind Sharma, in his order rejecting Natarajan’s nomination, recorded that Natarajan “submitted an incomplete affidavit in Form 26 and concealed material facts” related to the court case.

“This amounts to withholding complete information about the candidate from voters, and it stands established that incomplete information was presented in lieu of full disclosure,” the order read.

Breaking her silence afterwards, Natarajan accused the BJP of orchestrating the move to influence the Rajya Sabha election. “It became evident that they were engaging in politics designed to trample upon the Constitution and democracy. They are clearly attempting to manipulate the Rajya Sabha election just as they previously subverted elections in Madhya Pradesh,” Natarajan said.

She said the BJP shifted tactics after failing to engineer divisions within the Congress. “When they saw this was a united house and not a divided one, they challenged the nomination under the guise of a legal notice which had not even been taken under cognisance. Our lawyers put forth all arguments, but they were not given adequate time, and this decision was taken,” she said.

The Congress reacted sharply to the rejection, describing it as a blatant attempt to undermine the democratic process. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said the allegations against Natarajan were baseless and politically motivated.

“The allegation of any error or non-disclosure in her nomination is complete humbug and a desperate attempt to snatch a seat from the INC,” Venugopal said.

As the political battle intensified, the Election Commission agreed to meet a Congress delegation at noon on Wednesday. In a communication, EC Secretary Ashwani Kumar Mohal informed the party that the Commission had accepted its request for an interaction at Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi.

In a memorandum submitted to the Commission, the Congress argued that the allegations against Natarajan were factually incorrect. It said the matter cited by the BJP arose from a private complaint filed before a court in Nampally and claimed the “frivolity” of the complaint was evident from the fact that “even the court has not taken any cognisance” of it.

The party further contended that Natarajan had not been given a fair opportunity to present her case before her nomination was rejected.

In Bhopal, Congress leaders staged a late-night protest outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, carrying portraits of Dr B R Ambedkar and accusing the BJP of subverting democratic institutions.

Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar described the rejection as an abuse of power and a direct assault on democracy, while state Congress president Jitu Patwari said the party would challenge the decision through every available forum.

Within the BJP ranks, there were celebrations.

Moments after the decision became known, BJP legislators gathered inside the Assembly complex, raising clasped hands and chanting “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. Former state BJP president and Khajuraho MLA V D Sharma, along with senior BJP leader Rameshwar Sharma and other party legislators, joined the celebrations as party workers and leaders hailed the development as a breakthrough in the Rajya Sabha contest.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who was at the forefront of the BJP’s challenge to Natarajan’s nomination, hinted at internal sabotage, claiming that “some of our Congress friends from Telangana also assisted us”.

He accused the Congress of undermining democratic institutions and said the decision reaffirmed the importance of respecting constitutional bodies. “The fact is that everywhere, one must respect the judiciary, the Legislative Assembly, the Lok Sabha and the Constitution. The Congress has always murdered the Constitution. They have mocked all constitutional institutions,” he said.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the decision reinforced the principle of full disclosure by election candidates. “The information deliberately withheld by the Congress candidate amounts to the offence of concealing a criminal record,” Yadav said.