New Delhi: Amidst allegations of cross voting and breach of poll code by Congress seeking cancellation of two party MLA votes, the counting in Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections has been put on hold.
The Gujarat Assembly today voted to fill Gujarat’s three Rajya Sabha seats. Three candidates of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one Congress candidate are in the fray for the seats.
The three BJP candidates, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union minister Smriti Irani andAhmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, would have sailed smoothly to the Upper House but the counting, as of now, has been put on a hold.
Balwant Singh Rajput, the former chief whip of Gujarat Congress, appeared as the game changer. He and five others resigned from the party last month. Caught unawares and with no definitive plan to secure 45 votes for Patel’s comeback to the Rajya Sabha, the Congress made arrangements to shift 51 MLAs to Bengaluru. Seven of them refused and 44 MLAs were then taken to Bengaluru; they returned to the state on Monday to take part in the election.