As anticipated Balwantsinh Rajput, one of the three BJP candidates for the recently concluded the Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat, filed a petition in State High Court against his rival Ahmed Patel by challenging the election process.
Apart from disqualification of Patel’s election in the RS, Rajput has also appealed to bar the senior Congress leader from fighting the RS polls for the next six years. In his plea, the former Congress MlA and ex-chief whip in the State Assembly said the order of Election Commission to cancel two votes was not as per the rules. Considering the votes invalid was against the rules, he stated in the plea.
Talking to mediapersons, Rajput’s lawyer Satyapal Jain said the entire Bengaluru episode ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls in the State should come under corrupt practices. According to Jain, the way 44 Congress MlAs were kept captive and were not allowed to meet anyone for more than a week and kind of money spent to offer them lavish accommodation in a luxurious resort were the evidences of offering incentives to voters.
“Based on these facts, my client has moved to the High Court to nullify Ahmed Patel’s election in the RS. We have also appealed that he shouldn’t be allow to contest RS polls for the six years,” said the lawyer.
The petition has now been slated for August 21.
The elections for the three Rajya Sabha seats of Gujarat held on August 8 was perhaps the most fiercely contested polls in the history of Rajya Sabha elections. There were four candidates for the three seats.