Even as ruling BJP yet to open its cards for the forthcoming elections of three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Ahmed Patel filed his nomination on Wednesday with the support of NCP and JD (U) at the State capital Gandhinagar.
The Congress party repeated one of its senior most leaders for the Rajya Sabha poll slated on August 8 despite the fact that at least 11 members from the Opposition parties did cross voting in the recently concluded Presidential election. Currently of the three seats that are going for the polls, ruling BJP holds two in form of Union Minister Smrit Irani and Dilip Pandya. The lone seat is being held by Congress leader Patel.
This RS polls could become interesting in case BJP decides to put its candidates for all the three seats. The last date for filing nomination is July 28, Friday.
In the 182 member Gujarat Assembly, BJP is having 122 MlAs, opposition Congress 57, NCP and JD (U) have two and one legislature respectively.
With NCP and JD (U) announced support to Patel, he should get 60 votes against the requirement of 46 preferential votes.
However, cross-voting from 11 legislatures belonging to opposition parties in the presidential polls and leader of Opposition Shankerisnh Vaghela’s resignation from the Congress party reduced available votes for Patel from 60 to 49.
In case 4-5 legislatures from Congress decide to vote against their party’s mandate, it would be difficult for the 67-year-old congressman to retain RS seat.
Ahmed Patel who hails from Bharuch in South Gujarat first time became RS member in 1993 and since then he has been repeated for the upper House by his party. If he wins, this will be his fifth term in a row.
Gujarat Congress President Bharatsinh Solanki and party’s State in-charge and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed confidence for Patel’s victory by saying that a whip has been given to all the MlAs to vote for party’s official nominee and if any legislature wouldn’t follow, he or she would invite disqualification for six years for defying it.
The Congress leaders deliberately spreading wrong information on disqualification of legislatures in the case of cross-voting in the upcoming RS election, said Gujarat's parliamentary affair minister Pradipsinh Jadeja, adding that as per the Representation of People Act, 1951 there is no prohibition on cross-voting.