Within next six months, the people of Gujarat will witness yet another election. With six sitting MlAs of the BJP, two Ministers and the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi himself set to represent the lower House of Parliament, bypolls on nine Assembly segments is likely to take place later this year.
Besides, the Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is expected to represent from Varanasi, he will have to vacate Vadodara constituency in coming days. Hence, by-election of the parliamentary seat will also be held along with Assembly seats.
The nine legislatures including Modi will retain their parliamentary seats and are expected to resign from the legislative Assembly on Friday, May 23. As per the rule, bypolls in the vacant Assembly segments and a parliamentary constituency need to be held within six months. Possibility of bypolls on two Rajya Sabha seats is over in the State, as Rajya Sabha MPs from Gujarat Arun Jaitley and Smriti Irani both are not elected to the lok Sabha.
Overall, as many as 15 sitting MlAs — nine of BJP, five of Congress and one from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were in the fray for the parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, BJP’s tally in Gujarat Assembly, which houses 182 seats, further improved following Assembly bypolls on seven segments from 119 to 123. The bypolls were held simultaneously with lok Sabha elections on April 30. Of these seven seats, six were with the Congress and one with the BJP. As the result declared, BJP candidates won from four and rest went to the Congress.
In the 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections, the BJP had won 115 seats. However, BJP’s tally increased to 119 after 2013 by-elections, which further swelled to 123 in 2014 bypolls.