Rajya Sabha election Gujarat: How the numbers stack up

In the event of neither Patel not Rajput touching the 45 mark, then there would be a second round of counting of preferential votes.

The Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat will be held today. It has generated much interest as Congress big-wig Ahmed Patel is on a sticky wicket and hopes to retain his seat.

A candidate would need the support of 45 legislators to win. The 182 memberr Gujarat assembly was reduced to 176 after six Congress legislators quit recently. The six members are however not eligible to vote.

In the election to be held today, Amit Shah and Smriti Irani too are contesting. Both the BJP leaders will sail through as the numbers are heavily stacked in their favour. The party has 121 MLAs and this means it has 31 extra votes to ensure the victory of both its leaders. The party fielded Balwantsinh Rajput against Ahmed Patel. Rajput had recently resigned from the Congress.

The BJP feels that two out of the 44 MLAs who were holed up in a resort near Bengaluru may defy the Congress. If the 2 MLAs defy the Congress, then Patel would bank heavily on the two legislators of the NCP and one from the JD(U). The NCP is yet to issue a whip.

However according to sources, one of the NCP legislators has decided to back the BJP. The JD(U) MLA had initially said that he would back Patel, but he has not been reachable to the media for the past couple of days which has added to more speculation. The JD(U) recently partnered with the BJP in Bihar.

In the event of neither Patel not Rajput touching the 45 mark, then there would be a second round of counting of preferential votes. If it comes down to this, then Patel will lose since the BJP has a huge number in the house. Each member in the House would have to mark his first and second preference.

OneIndia News