Congress candidate Ahmed Patel on Wednesday beat the BJP nominee in a bitterly fought Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat after late night dramatic developments saw the Election Commission reject the votes of two dissident Congress MLAs for violating electoral rules.
Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, beat the BJP’s Balwantsinh Rajput with 44 votes.
BJP chief Amit Shah made his maiden entry into the house, as did party nominee and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani.
14 Congress MLAs Expelled from Party
After Congress veteran Ahmed Patel's hard-fought victory in the Rajya Sabha elections, the party on Wednesday cracked the whip against 8 rebel MLAs, including former Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, expelling them for six years for anti-party activities.
The party has expelled all eight rebel MLAs, including Shankersinh Vaghela, who cross-voted against Ahmed bhai, defying the party whip.Manish Doshi, Gujarat Congress Spokesperson
“We have also initiated similar action against six other legislators who resigned earlier after the party had issued a whip to all MLAs to vote for the official nominee in the Rajya Sabha elections,” he said, adding that the action against them is on technical grounds.
PM Modi Congratulates Amit Shah and Smriti Irani
Congratulating Amit Shah and Smriti Irani on their victory, PM Modi tweeted the following:
'Don't Agree With EC's Decision': Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani
“Don't agree with EC's decision. In coming days we will fight a legal battle and will get justice,” said Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.
Congress Celebrates Patel's Victory
Top congress leaders took to Twitter to celebrate Patel’s victory.