New Delhi: In the wake of resignations by several of its MLAs in Gujarat ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress on Sunday claimed it needs only one more vote to win the second seat from the state, though it refused to say more on the issue.
“We need only one more vote to win the second seat. We are not going to discuss the numbers here as it is part of our strategy to win the seat,” Congress incharge for Gujarat affairs, Rajeev Satav, told IANS.
He cited the case of party leader Ahmed Patel who won a Rajya Sabha seat in 2017, adding that “we are also working on numbers and not sitting idle”.
The Congress had won 77 Assembly seats in Gujarat in 2018 elections but the party strength has since reduced to 65 in the House.
To keep its flock together, the Congress has sent its remaining MLAs to Ambaji, Vadodara, and Rajkot.
The Congress has fielded Shakti Singh Gohil and Bharat Singh Solanki for two Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat. The first preference votes will got to Gohil, but the opposition party’s pitch for the second seat has been queered by the BJP by fielding Narhari Amin.
The Congress strategy depends on Solanki’s manoeuvring and the goodwill of his father Madhav Singh Solanki, a former Chief Minister.
Initially, the Congress fielded Rajiv Shukla who withdrew in the face of opposition by the state unit and the party then named Solanki.
In Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh of the Congress and Jyotiraditya Scindia of the BJP are set to sail through but Phool Singh Baraiya of the Congress will find it tough as Congress numbers in the Assembly were reduced to 92 after the resignation of 22 MLAs.
The Congress seems comfortable in Karnataka but nomination of Mallikarjun Kharge can trigger infighting due to many claimants for the lone seat. Kharge could make it only because of his proximity to Rahul Gandhi and the Dalit factor.