Gohil finds way into Rajya Sabha, BJP claws its way to three of four seats

After hours of contemplating another 2017-like dreadlock result of Rajya Sabha polls, the vote count was finally declared and all three candidates of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have emerged victorious while one of the candidates of Indian National Congress (INC) Shaktisinh Gohil made it to the upper house of the parliament. The second candidate INC candidate, Bharatsinh Solanki, lost the polls. 

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Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections conclude

While the minimum requirement for the candidate to win was 35 votes, three of the four winning candidates got 36 votes. Narhari Amin who was the third preference by BJP secured 32 votes and Bharatsinh Solanki who lost the poll got 30 votes. 

Minutes after the results were out, the Congress candidates Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki approached the Election Commission and challenged two votes from BJP. 

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The two MLAs whose votes were asked to be disqualified were Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Kesarisinh Chudasama. The latter is the Education Minister of the state. Their votes were asked to be disqualified because the Gujarat High Court had declared their victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections of 2017 null and void.

Although, later on, Chudasama had approached the Supreme Court and got a stay on the High Court order. On the other hand, Kesarisinh's vote in Rajya Sabha bypolls is also being questioned since the vote was cast through a proxy and the application for permission for voting by proxy was not submitted in time by the MLA. These are the grounds being used by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC). 

This came minutes after voting culminated at 4 pm, when both Gohil and Solanki came out in front of cameras in a bid to present a united front. The application made in the State Election Commission, however, was later rejected since they claimed that Congress should've made the application during the voting. The party then approached the central election commission. 

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After nearly four hours of waiting, the results were finally declared around 10:30 pm. In the meantime, Congress claimed that the party was waiting for a response from the Election Commission of India in Delhi.

"We made an application in the state election commission. But that was not entertained since it was made a little later and they said we should've filed it during the voting time and not after it. We were awaiting a response from the ECI and thus the counting could not take place without their clearance," said Ashwin Kotwal (MLA) who was an observer in RS elections. 

Even till the end, Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki kept claiming that the BJP had used dirty tricks to win this seat in Rajya Sabha polls. "You all know how they operate and how they use all tactics to retain power. Their method is highly condemnable. But our party has stood stronger and more unified than ever in front of these people. They tried to break us, but our leaders, our workers, our MLAs, and our allies refused to give in to their dirty tricks," said Shaktisinh Gohil.

Image Credits - PTI 

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