Rajya sabha polls voting for 3 seats begins, patel's fate hangs in balance

Rajya Sabha polls: Voting for 3 seats begins, Patel's fate hangs in balance

Rajya Sabha polls: Voting for 3 seats begins, Patel's fate hangs in balance .

While Ahmed Patel is seeking a fifth term, the BJP candidates are all set for an easy run

Latest News Polling for the crucial Rajya Sabha elections here in Gujarat began on Tuesday that will decide the fate of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel and that of BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani.

While Patel is seeking a fifth term with his back to the wall, the Bharatiya Janata Party candidates are all set for an easy run.

As many as 176 legislators are expected to exercise their franchise for four contestants battling it out for three seats. The ruling BJP's third candidate is Congress turncoat Balwantsinh Rajput.

With 122 MLAs in the House of 182, two BJP candidates will easily sail through, but Patel with 44 Congress MLAs, appears to be falling short by one to win his seat.

The Congress had 57 legislators. But after six of them resigned in July, it was reduced to 51.Seven from them are led by rebel leader Shankersinh Vaghela.

In a blow to the Congress and a further setback for Ahmed Patel's attempt to enter the Rajya Sabha for the fifth term, an NCP MLA said he and his party colleague have been asked to vote for the BJP. Nationalist Congress Party MLA Kandhal Jadeja told local TV that they had been asked by senior party leaders to vote for BJP's Balvantsinh Rajput in Tuesday's Rajya Sabha election.

The latest development muddies the situation for Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, with the BJP all out to stymie his efforts in the biennial elections.

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