Congress Set To Lose Ahmed Patel's Hard-Won Rajya Sabha Seat To BJP

Wednesday, 23 December 2020Newsdesk

The Congress is set to lose its senior leader Ahmed Patel's Rajya Sabha seat in Gujarat -- which it fought hard to win in 2017 -- to the BJP. Ahmed Patel, a five-time Rajya Sabha member, died at 71 last month. The Congress veteran's seat was declared vacant on November 25, the day he died. His term was up to August 18, 2023.

New Delhi, 23 December 2020

Another Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant on December 1 after the BJP's Abhay Bharadwaj died. His term was till June 21, 2026. The Election Commission has decided to carry out two separate by-polls to fill the vacancies. If so, the BJP is likely to win both the seats. The BJP has 111 MLAs in Gujarat while the Congress has 65. A candidate needs 50 per cent of the votes - or 88 votes -- to win.

Source -NDTV