A day after the Gujarat High
Court declared state BJP minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama's election in 2017 as void, opposition Congress on Wednesday urged the Assembly Speaker to declare Dholka seat as vacant.
Chudasama had won from Dholka seat of Ahmedabad district by defeating Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod in 2017.
After the court's verdict, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, in a letter sent on Wednesday, urged Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi to immediately declare the seat as vacant, especially when the high court had also refused to stay its order invalidating Chudasama's election.
"In view of the HC order, Dholka assembly seat of Gujarat is required to be declared vacant forthwith and without any delay and hence I have to request you to do so immediately. It may be noted that Gujarat High Court has declined to stay the order passed by it and hence it has become operational with immediate effect i.e from May 12," Dhanani said in his letter to Trivedi.
The high court had declared Chudasama's election in 2017 as void on grounds of malpractice and manipulation as alleged in a petition filed by Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod, who had challenged the BJP leader's victory from Dholka constituency by a margin of 327 votes in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.
In his election petition, Rathod alleged that Chudasama indulged in "corrupt practice and breach of many of the mandatory instructions of the Election Commission, at various stages of the election process, more particularly at the time of counting of votes".
Chudasama currently holds the charge of the education, law and justice, legislative and parliamentary affairs, and some other departments in the Vijay Rupani government.
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