Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel has retained his Rajya Sabha seat, after winning 44 votes in the recently held Rajya Sabha election.

Ahmed Patel’s win is being considered a major victory for the Congress and a blow for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“This is not just my victory. It is a defeat of the most blatant use of money power,muscle power and abuse of state machinery,” Patel tweeted.

Congress had made candidature of Ahmed Patel as a matter of prestige. The BJP also left no stone unturned to win all the three seats. The saffron pitted Balwantsinh Rajput, a recent acquisition from the Congress, against Ahmed Patel knowing that Patel’s defeat will bring huge embarrassment for Sonia Gandhi since he is her political secretary.

After the intense political developments, the Election Commission (EC) declared results for the three seats of the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. Total 176 MLAs voted in the crucial elections, but two votes were declared invalid.

The EC on late Tuesday night declared votes of two Congress MLAs- Bhola Bhai Gohil and Raghav Bhai Patel- invalid. The decision was taken on a complaint of the Congress.

Earlier in the evening, Congress had complained to the EC and said that two of its MLAs- Bhola Bhai Gohil and Raghav Bhai Patel- showed their votes to unauthorized persons and demanded their votes should not be counted and should be rejected.

Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah and Union minister Smriti Irani also emerged victorious in Gujarat Rajya Sabha election.

Shah will enter the Parliament as a member for the first time, while Irani will return for a second term.

Voting for the three Rajya Sabha seats was conducted on Tuesday.

Guest