New Delhi, June 5 -- The Congress on Thursday announced its list of seven candidates for the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections, renominating party's national chief Mallikarjun Kharge from Karnataka, with party functionaries aware of the matter saying that the selections underline loyalty factors, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's imprint, and a couple of fresh faces in the House of the Elders.

Gandhi loyalist Meenaakshi Natarajan, who had won the Mandsaur Lok Sabha seat-a difficult seat for the Congress-in 2009, and has been a key member in Gandhi's core team, has been given a ticket from Madhya Pradesh. Former MP chief minister Digvijaya Singh's term in the Rajya Sabha is coming to an end.

Congress' media department head Pa...