Cong moves EC seeking cancellations of votes of 2 of its MLAs

The Congress today approached the Election Commission demanding cancellation of votes of its two disgruntled MLAs for allegedly showing their votes to persons other than the authorised party representatives in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha poll.

Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and RPN Singh today met the Commission officials and demanded that votes of Bholabhai Gohil and Raghavjibhai Patel be cancelled as per law since they violated the "secrecy of ballot".

The Congress also produced a video of the poll proceedings to the commission.

According to the rules, voters for the Rajya Sabha elections have to show their ballots to their respective party's authorised representative before exercising their franchise.
 

"The votes cast by these two MLAs are required to be cancelled for the reason of voting procedure violation," the party said in its memorandum to the Commission.

Surjewala said the two legislators, instead of showing their ballots to party's election agent, displayed it to BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani, which he said, "should not be accepted".

The BJP has nominated Shah and Irani from two other Rajya Sabha seats from the state, while Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel is pitted against the saffron party's Balwantsinh Rajput.

"Votes of the two MLAs should be cancelled," Surjewala told reporters after meeting EC officials here.

Singh said that the poll panel told them that it will talk to the returning officer concerned and will accept his report. The former Union minister also said that the party is waiting to see if "the Commission works to save democracy".

It has become a high-stakes battle for Congress, thanks to infighting and resignations, with the BJP fancying its prospects to win the third seat also.

The Congress, alleging that its MLAs were being poached by the BJP, had taken 44 of the legislator in Bengaluru for the last few days to keep the flock together.