In Haryana, several lobbies are vying for a single seat that the state has to offer this time around. Chief minister Bhupinder Hooda's choice is former MLA Venod Sharma. Hooda had promised him a Rajya Sabha seat after denying him a ticket in the assembly elections.

Apart from "outsider" Jairam Ramesh, five members J.D. Seelam (coastal Andhra), Hanumantha Rao (Telangana region), N. Janardhana Reddy (coastal Andhra), Girish Sanghi (Hyderabad) and the CPM's P.

Madhu ( Telangana) will retire from Andhra Pradesh.

Of the six seats on offer, the Congress can get three and will have to struggle to get one more with the support of the Praja Rajyam Party ( PRP), Majlis- e- Ittehadul Muslimeen ( MIM) and Independents. That is a big if, though. The Telugu Desam Party ( TDP) is set to claim two.

Being a Dalit, Seelam is certain to be re- elected, leaving two safe slots for four claimants, including Ramesh. Given the situation over the Telangana agitation in the state, the Congress high command could go for a regional balance -- accommodating one member each from both regions.

That puts a question mark on Union forest and environment minister Ramesh's fate. He could be fielded from Karnataka, where AICC general secretaries Oscar Fernandes and B. K. Hariprasad, senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu and M. A. M. Ramaswamy of the Janata Dal ( Secular), will retire.

Again there is a catch. The Congress has the numbers for a single seat and Fernandes is a prime contender. Hariprasad can sneak through if he gets the support of Deve Gowda's JD( S).

This pushes Ramesh further down south.

He could try his luck from Tamil Nadu, where six members are retiring -- the AIADMK's four and one each from the Congress and the PMK. The Congress has one secure seat and probably can manage one with DMK's support.