Ahead of Rajya Sabha polls, two Congress leaders in Gujarat resign

New Delhi, June 04: Ahead of Rajya Sabha polls that is all set to take place on June 19, two Congress lawmakers in Gujarat have resigned for four seats from the state.

On Wednesday, Congress MLAs Akshay Patel and Jitu Chaudhary met Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and handed over their resignations. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Trivedi told the reporters that he has accepted their resignations. He said that the MLAs have resigned voluntarily.

It can be seen that Patel represented Karjan seat of Vadodara, while Chaudhary had won from Kaprada seat of Valsad.

Earlier, three Congress MLAs met Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, triggering speculations of defection.

According to a news agency, it is said that it identified these MLAs as Kirit Patel, Lalit Vasoya and Lalit Kagathara. These lawmakers, however, refuted the rumours and claimed that they went to make a representation about various issues related to coronavirus and lockdown.

The Rajya Sabha election for four seats in Gujarat was supposed to be held on March 26, but later it was scheduled to be held on June 19 in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and a series of lockdowns.

While the Congress has fielded two candidates, BJP has fielded three, making it difficult for the Congress to win the second seat.

It should be noted that in March, five Congress legislators had tendered their resignations days after the elections were announced. This had further reduced the Congress's chances of retaining both the seats.