Never has a Rajya Sabha election been contested as keenly as is being fought in Gujarat, involving two political heavyweights: Ahmed Patel of the Congress and Amit Shah of the BJP.
The high-stake battle for a seat in the Upper House has turned into a full-fledged political war where money and muscle power, along with apparent misuse of agencies, are on ample display.
Toughest battle
Seeking his fifth term in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Patel, one of the most trusted aides of the Gandhi family, is facing the toughest battle of his political life.
This year, as soon as Mr. Patel filed his nomination papers, his party suffered a huge setback when three of its total 57 legislators resigned and one of them, Balwantsinh, became a BJP candidate to take on Ahmed bhai , once his political mentor.
Subsequently, three more legislators resigned, forcing the Congress leadership to sequester away the remaining legislators, fearing more resignations and switch overs ahead of the voting. Moreover, seven more MLAs led by former Leader of Opposition Shankersinh Vaghela have rebelled against the party, though they have not resigned as legislators but are likely to cross vote against Mr. Patel.
“We have adequate numbers to ensure Ahmed bhai’s victory. Besides the 44 MLAs of our party, we have the support of NCP, JD (U) and GPP legislators,” Congress chief whip Shailesh Parmar told The Hindu .
“As of now, it looks like Ahmed bhai will scrap through with help of three outsiders because Shankersinh Vaghela and Balwantsinh have not been able to get more 17-18 members as they were talking about,” a political insider from Gandhinagar told The Hindu .
