Two BJP candidates won unopposed in Gujarat Rajya Sabha by-election, Congress had no candidate

In the by-elections for two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, both BJP candidates Dinesh Anwadia and Rambhai Mokariya have been declared victorious unopposed. The victory of both was already being decided as two dummy candidates of BJP withdrew their nomination papers on Saturday and no candidate was fielded by the Congress in the by-election to be held on March 1.

Election officer CB Pandya had told that two dummy BJP candidates Rajnekanth Patel and Kirti Solanki withdrew their nomination papers on Saturday. After this, it was he who spoke of winning Dinesh Anwadia and Ram Mokariya. He had said that Dinesh Anwadia and Ram Mokariya would be declared victories after three o’clock on Monday. Actually, Monday was the last day for withdrawal of nomination papers.

Significantly, bypolls were announced on the seats vacated due to the demise of senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel and BJP’s Abhay Bhardwaj. Patel’s term in the Rajya Sabha was till August 2023 and Bhardwaj’s term was till June 2026.
BJP had fielded Anwadia for the seat vacated by Patel’s demise, while Mokaria was in the fray for the seat vacated by Bhardwaj’s death. Both have now been declared uncontested victorious.

The BJP has 111 members in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly while the Congress has 65 members. The Congress does not have the strength to win even a single seat.