Gujarat is all set to witness an acrimonious battle as four Rajya Sabha seats will fall vacant in April. The BJP will be putting up three candidates, the Congress two, and there will be an independent candidate. If necessary, the elections will be held on March 23.
The BJP decided to field Parshottam Rupala and Mansukh L. Mandaviya—two Union ministers—and
former minister Kirit Sinh Rana. The Congress candidates are former Union minister Naran Rathwa—a tribal leader—and Ami Yagnik who is a lawyer and a media face for the party.
However, soon after the names of candidates were announced, the Congress witnessed an internal fight with Gujarat Congress women's wing president Sonal Patel resigning from her post. Though she cited personal reasons for the resignation, sources close to her said women in the party and she herself were disappointed with the manner in which the party chose Yagnik, who is not connected with electoral politics. They further said this affected the morale of party workers.
Amid high drama, Rathwa finally managed to file his nomination in the last hour. However, there was a technical hitch in his nomination papers, with the returning officer asking the Congress leader to produce a 'no due' certificate from the bank from which he had taken a loan and repaid it. Yagnik too filed her nomination.
There were also rumours that Rajiv Shukla would be flown in to file the nomination papers. Reports suggested that his chartered plane was not granted permission to land, owing to maintenance of runway of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
Congress spokesman Shaktisinh Gohil, however, said Shukla was not going to file nomination and added that the party's candidates are Rathwa and Yagnik.
Not wanting to take any chances, the Congress has also fielded party leader P. K. Valera as an independent candidate, as a backup arrangement.
All the four seats are held by the BJP. While the BJP retained Rupala and Mandaviya, it dropped MP Shankarbhai Vegad and moved Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to Uttar Pradesh.
With the BJP's tally in the state assembly only being 99, it has the strength to get only two candidates elected. The Congress, on the other hand, has 77 MLAs, and the support of four independents and one MLA of Bharatiya Tribal Party. The Congress can also send two candidates.
Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said there was huge discontent within the Congress and that there are chances of cross voting. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Patel and state party president Jitu Vaghani, who is also an MLA, held a meeting. Rana's candidature was announced thereafter.
The ruling BJP in Gujarat would want to defeat the Congress for the setback it suffered after Ahmed Patel managed to win the Rajya Sabha seat in 2017. Fearing defections and allegedly facing threats, the Congress had then packed off its MLAs to a luxury resort near Bengaluru. Despite this measure, 12 of the party MLAs had cross voted. Patel, however, emerged victorious.
Patel's victory had proved to be a morale booster for the Congress in the assembly elections in 2017 and the party put up a good show, ensuring that the BJP's tally did not touch three digits.
A former minister of state for railways at the Centre, Rathwa had lost Lok Sabha election in 2014. His wife and son lost local elections recently. However, it is said that Rathwa, hailing from Chhotaudepur, a tribal belt, was assured Rajya Sabha ticket during 2017 assembly elections. Rathwa had staked claim on one of the seats of the tribal belt.
Yagnik, though a Congress member, has not been active with the party and is seen mostly on television debates.
Sources said the Congress had decided not to nominate any of its leaders, who had lost the 2017 assembly election.