Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court today issued notices to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the three winning candidates; BJP president Amit Shah, union minister Smriti Irani and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel on the election petition filed by Balwantsinh Rajput who has challenged the victory of Patel in the August 8 Rajyasabha election on three seats of Gujarat in which as the 3rd BJP candidate he lost to him with a thin margin after the controversial decision of the ECI to cancel two votes polled in his favour.

Single bench court of Justice Bela Trivedi after issuing the notices today fixed the next date of hearing of the matter for September 21.

Co-counsel of Rajput, Devang Vyas said that the court has taken cognizance of the petition and issued the notices today. ‘In such cases the court issues notices to all the candidates along with the ECI,’ he said.

Notably, Rajput who lost in a nail-biting photo-finish like situation in the counting post mid-night had Gujarat High Court on August 18 challenging the said controversial decision of the Election Commission to cancel two votes of dissident Congress MLAs polled in his favour and the victory of congress candidate and political secretary of Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel.

Rajput in his election petition has not only challenged the commission’s decision but also requested the court to disqualify Patel from contesting any election for the next six years owing to corrupt practices adopted by him.

He has also prayed the court to declare him the winner in place of Patel.

Rajput, who was declared as the third BJP candidate for the election soon after his resignation as Congress MLA and party whip a in his petition has alleged that the EC order was patently illegal and ‘void ab initio’ and liable to be set aside as the commission has no power to issue any instruction to the Returning officer for accepting or rejecting any vote as valid or invalid. He has claimed that the RO had rejected the objection to the two votes earlier and his EC has no power to overrule his discretion. It should also not have heard the appeal of the party (Congress/Patel), who as per law could have approached a court for any remedy.

He has also alleged that Patel indulged in corrupt practices like bribery and undue influence over the voters and forcefully took away 44 Congress MLAs to a distant place like Bangalore and kept them in captivity. He also spent huge amount on their entertainment in a resort there. Because of this the voters could not exercise their free will.

Rajput has also alleged that two of the Congress voters who polled in favor of Patel had shown their ballots to others and their votes were liable to be rejected and should be cancelled. In such a scenario he would be getting more votes than Patel and was entitled to be declared winner in place of Patel.

Notably the closely contested sensational election had become a ‘war of prestige’ of sort for both BJP and Congress.

Two of the three BJP candidates Shah and Irani got 46 first preference votes each and were declared winner. Patel had got 44 while Rajput could get only 38.
During the election at least 8 Congress MLAs including Shankersinh Vaghela, his son Mahendrasinh and Raghavji Patel and Bhola Gohil (whose votes were rejected by EC) cross voted in favor of Rajput.

DeshGujarat