Congress leader Ahmed Patel takes oath as Rajya Sabha MP

In a bitterly bought RS election, Patel was polled 44 votes against his nearest rival, the Congress defector Balwant Singh Rajput who secured 38 votes.

Ahmed Patel, Congress President Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, took oath as Rajya Sabha MP in vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu's office in Parliament House on Monday.

Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad waere presenting during the oath-taking ceremony.

In a bitterly bought Gujarat Rajya Sabha election, Patel was polled 44 votes against his nearest rival, the Congress defector Balwant Singh Rajput who secured 38 votes. Amid desertions from the Congress camp in the run up to the RS poll, Patel was in a precarious position.

BJP president Amit Shah and Smriti Irani were declared elected to the Rajya Sabha, with 46 votes each.

Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani took oath members of the Rajya Sabha in vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu's office in Parliament House on Friday.

BJP and Congress both have 57 members each in the 245 member RS. Though the Opposition parties outnumber NDA in the House, the margin has narrowed. NDA is likely get a improve uts in April 2018 when the next round of polls for vacant seats takes place.

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