RS polls: BJP fields third candidate; close contest on cards

The upcoming Rajya Sabha

election in Gujarat is expected to witness a close contest as three candidates from the BJP and two from the Congress filed their nomination papers on Friday for four vacant seats.

The last minute nomination and filing of form by the third BJP candidate will lead to number crunching in the March 26 RS polls in Gujarat, with both sides claiming their candidates will emerge victorious.

From the oppositon Congress, Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki filed their nomination forms.

While from the ruling BJP, Abhay Bharadwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin submitted their forms in presence of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel.

 

In the 182 member state assembly, the BJP has 103 members, the Congress 73, the Bharatiya Tribal Party 2, the NCP 1 and independent 1. Two seats are lying vacant. A state's MLAs vote in Rajya Sabha elections.

For victory on all the three seats, the BJP will require 111 votes, while the Congress will need 74 votes to win two seats.

Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani on Friday extended his support to the Congress.

My vote will go for the Congress, Mevani said after meeting the two Congress candidates.

The Congress hopes to win both the seats as it has 73 votes of its own MLAs and one vote of Mevani.

The BJP on its own has 103 votes and is banking on support of two MLAs of the BTP, led by tribal leader Chotu Vasva, and one of the NCP.

The BJP will need five extra votes to reach the figure of 111 even if BTP and NCP MLAs support the ruling party.

The BJP had on Wednesday announced the candidature of Abhay Bharadawaj and Ramilaben Bara, while the Congress on Thursday fielded Solanki and Gohil.

However, on the morning of Friday, the last date of filing nominations, the BJP announced Amin as its third candidate.

Rupani expressed confidence that all his party candidates will win. "We have the required numbers and our party will win all the three seats (out of four which are up for grabs)," he said.

Solanki also expressed confidence that both Congress candidates will emerge victorious.

All our MLAs are intact and will vote for Congress candidates and we will win both the seats," he said.

Of the four outgoing RS members, three were from the BJP and one from the Congress.

The Congress decided not to re-nominate its outgoing member Madhusudan Mistry. The three retiring Rajya Sabha MPs from the BJP are: Shambhuprasad Tundia, Lalsinh Vadodia and Chunibhai Gohel.