An RS poll like never before
Congress candidate Ahmed Patel on Tuesday beat the BJP nominee in a bitterly fought Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat after late night dramatic developments saw the Election Commission reject the votes of two dissident MLAs of the main opposition party for violating electoral rules.
Mr Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi beat Balwantsinh Rajput, till recently the party’s chief whip in the state Assembly before defecting to BJP, polling 44 votes, in the first RS polls in Gujarat in two decades which saw a contest instead of official candidates of major parties getting elected unopposed.
Mr Rajput secured 38 votes.
BJP chief Amit Shah made his maiden entry into the House of elders and so did party nominee and information and broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, clinching 46 votes each. “This is not just my victory. It is a defeat of the most blatant use of money power, muscle power and abuse of state machinery,” Mr Patel, who secured a fifth Rajya Sabha term after the tough electoral fight, tweeted after his victory.
A defeat for Mr Patel, apart from being seen as a personal setback to Sonia, would have left Congress rank and file hugely demoralised in a state where Assembly elections are to take place later this year. The EC’s decision to cancel the votes of two Congress MLAs brought down the requirement for an outright victory for a candidate to 44 from 45.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said BJP will legally challenge the EC’s decision rejecting the votes of two Congress MLAs who had backed his party.