Gandhinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates selected to contest the four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat convened a meeting with party MLAs in Gandhinagar on Sunday, a day before they are scheduled to file their nomination papers at the state assembly on Monday. State BJP leaders stated that the gathering aimed to foster better coordination between the Rajya Sabha candidates and the legislators.
Meeting Details
Addressing the media after the meeting, Rajya Sabha candidate Mukesh Rathwa informed that all four candidates would submit their nomination papers on Monday, which is the final day for the process. “During today’s meeting, I and the three other Rajya Sabha candidates sought guidance from party leaders, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, and state BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma. We introduced ourselves to all the party MLAs during the meeting and expressed our gratitude for their support,” Rathwa said.
Candidates and Political Context
On June 4, the BJP announced the candidatures of Rajubhai Shukla, Mukesh Rathwa, Mansinh Parmar, and Jitendra Kanzariya for the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state. With the BJP possessing 161 MLAs in the 182-member Gujarat assembly and no opposition party having announced candidates so far, the saffron party is poised to secure all four seats. The four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat are falling vacant as the terms of MPs Rambhai Mokariya, Narhari Amin, Shaktisinh Gohil, and Ramilaben Bara expire on June 21. Gohil is the sole Congress member from Gujarat in the Upper House, while the remaining three belong to the BJP.
Schedule and Procedure
June 8 is the last date for filing nominations, and scrutiny of papers will take place on June 9. June 11 is the final date for withdrawal of nominations. If multiple candidates file their papers, voting will occur at the Assembly complex on June 18, and results will be announced on the same day.
