Suspense mounted over the fate of Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, seeking a fifth term in the Rajya Sabha,

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The voting will begin at the Swarnim Sankul Bhawan of the Gujarat Assembly building at 9 am and continue till 4 pm. The results will be declared by 6 pm, CNN-News 18.

In a latest shocker for the grand old party, its ally NCP has reportedly asked its MLAs to vote for the BJP candidate, CNN- News 18 reported.

It is after a gap of about two decades that a Rajya Sabha contest is happening in Gujarat, where official nominees of major parties usually get elected unopposed. Up for grabs are three Rajya Sabha seat, with the BJP lobbying hard to stymie the chances of Congress' Ahmed Patel, seeking to be re-elected for a fifth term in the Upper House.

Therefore, it all boils down to the choice of individual MLAs and cross-voting too can't be ruled out.

There seems to be some confusion over the stand of the Congress ally as CNN-news 18 reported that senior NCP leader Praful Patel had asked its legislators to vote for BJP. However, Congress leader Sharad Power said that the NCP will back the Congress.

However, given the high-stakes involved, even a single vote going off in cross-voting will jeopardize Congress candidate's chances.

Refusing to disclose who he and his supporters vote for, Shankersinh Vaghela clearly ruled out the possibility to choose NOTA. Vagghela's support to Patel may make or break his chance to retain his seat as the leader needs 44 votes to save his Rajya Sabha seat. That is also the number of MLAs he has under his protection, currently headed to the Assembly in a bus from a resort in Anand.

Besides this, each MLA has the option to mention a second preference too. In case, neither Balwantsinh Rajput nor Ahmed Patel gets a clean 45, there would be a second round of counting preferential votes. However, this can be a game changer for Patel, given the BJP's far greater numbers in the House.

In Rajya Sabha elections MLAs vote in what is called the proportional representation with the single transferable vote (STV) system. Each voter's vote is counted only once. A candidate needs the support of 45 legislators to secure a straight win in the 176-member-strong Assembly. Six Congress legislators, who had quit recently, with three joining the BJP, can't vote in the elections.

Meanwhile, one of the two party MLAs Kandhal Jadeja is seen to be in support of rebel Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela, who has openly claimed that he did not for Patel.

NCP leader Sharad Yadav today reasserted his support for the Congress party after media reports claimed that another senior leader from the party had asked the Gujarat MLAs to vote for the BJP.

Another Congress leader Raghavji Patel also said that he has supported BJP candidate Balwantsinh Rajput.

According to a Hindustan Times report, Congress MLA Mahendrasinh Vaghela and NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja take blessings of BJP chief Amit Shah by touching his feet. Meanwhile, rebel Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela also decidedly asserted that he did not vote for Patel.

”Congress hadn’t been listening to us for a year,” he told ANI.

Dharmendra Jadeja of the Congress says he voted for Balwantsinh Rajput of the BJP, who was until recently the Congress chief whip in the state.

Now, the party has not spelt clearly, where it's loyalties lie in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls where each and every vote will count for Congress' Ahmed Patel. “I have voted as per party’s ideology,” is all JD(U) MLA Chotu Vasava has said.

JD(U)'s has been a curiou case so far. In Bihar the party recently broke away from its alliance with the Congress and RJD, whereas it supported Congress vice presidential candidates, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, despite its newly forged alliance with the BJP. The party had voted for NDA's Ram Nath Kovind in presidential elections, when it was a Congress ally.

It will be a neck-to-neck between, Patel and Congress turncoat Balwantsinh Rajput with 44 Congress MLAs supporting Patel amid high chances of cross-voting between the two parties.

Meanwhile, as the debate is centred around Congress' Ahmed Patel as the battle turns threadbare, BJP top brass Amit Shah, Smriti Irani are expected to sail through the Rajya Sabha polls. With 122 MLAs in the House of 182, two BJP candidates will easily sail through.

He said, "Four-five more MLAs from the 44 that the Congress is banking upon are also not going to vote for the party."

"I have not voted for the Congress, because Ahmed Patel is not going to win and there is no point wasting a vote. We have pleaded so many times to listen to the grievances of the MLAs but it is unfortunate that they did not listen," Vaghela told reporters after polling.

Two of the Congress MLAs along with the six supporters of Shankersinh Vaghela's have reportedly cross-voted in favour of BJP candidate.

"Yes, the Congress party is facing a very serious crisis," Ramesh had told PTI in an interview.

Cross-voting in Congress camp justifies senior Congress leaderJairam Ramesh's sultanante jibe on his own party. His statement puts a question mark in the Congress party's much claimed internal Democracy yet again. The senior Congress leader taking a jibe on the other leaders in a statement to the media had today said, "The sultanate has gone, but we behave as if we are sultans still."

The clamour in the BJP camp is all about securing enough votes for Rajput to stymie the chnaces of Congress' Ahmed Patel.

The BJP had carried out a demo voting excercise on Tuesday ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls to ensure that the polling goes as planned. 45 of the BJP's 121 MLAs will choose Amit Shah as their first preference, 45 will choose Smriti Irani, and the remaining 31 will choose Balwantsinh Rajput.

Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, is one of the few politicians who have worked closely with three generations of the Congress’ first family and remains loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. This is what makes Patel important in the party and a defeat indicating a dent in his clout can be damaging for the party's morale, which is facing an "existential crisis" in its own leaders' words.

Ahmed Patel is under the spotlight today, outdoing BJP top-brass Amit Shah and Smriti Irani who prominently claim headline space in the national media. Patel, hadn't been a very well-known name before the high-decibel elections garnered steam. He is often hailed as a key strategist behind the party’s victory in the 2004 and 2009 general election, but was never seen as a prominent public face.

As voting began for three RS seats, Patel expressed confidence that he will win. However, former Congress stalwart Shankersinh Vaghela, after casting his vote, told reporters, "As Ahmed Patel is going to lose, I have not given my vote to him." The elections have turned into a high-stake battle for the Congress in the backdrop of turbulence in the party following the surprise exit of Vaghela and the resignation of six of its MLAs recently.

Voting is underway in Gujarat today for the Rajya Sabha elections in which Ahmed Patel, the influential political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and BJP's Amit Shah, Smriti Irani and Balwantsinh Rajput are in fray.

The 44 Congress MLAs who were filed away into a resort in Bengaluru and then later in Anand, have all claimed that they have voted for Ahmed Patel. If that is true then Ahmed Patel may manage to scrape through the required 45 votes with the help of Gujarat Parivartan Party, who has pledgedsupport to Patel.

BJP national president Amit Shah, a candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls is also an MLA in Gujarat Assembly.

Congress MLA from Sanand, Karamsibhai Virjibhai Patel has defied the party whip and cross-voted for the BJP, CNN-News 18 reported. Karamsibhai was also one of the 44 MLAs holed up in resorts.

Moreover reminding Vaghela of his caste, that too on a public platform is something which makes all the tall claims of ideology made by the party look farcical.

His tweet reminds that decisions in the Congress party are more influenced by caste equation and cronyism than ideology. His tweet comes across as, "Since Congress allowed you the benefit of power so now it was your turn to pay for it by voting for Patel."

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's tweet reminding Shankersinh Vaghela of his caste underscores the party's caste based elitist politics. Just after Vaghela told the media that he along with his six supporters have not voted for Congress candidate, came Digvijaya Singh's tweet "Don't forget what Congress has done for you. You are a Rajput. Please ensure Ahmed Bhai's victory. He has been our friend and supporter."

61 BJP MLAs and 43 Congress MLAs have cast their votes so far

Shankersinh Vaghela says voting against Congress doesn't mean we will join BJP: CNN-News18

He had even offered to support Patel in the election, albeit with the pre-condition that Congress leader Ashok Gehlot withdraws his statement againt him.

He conspired with the BJP to bring down Congress' chances to secure a seat for Ahmed Patel, a leader who he had been heaping praise on, even in his exit rally. He had described Patel as a “Sufi” saint and a very liberal man.

Shankersing Vaghgela has orchestrated many a politicl coups in Gujarat . "In a reversal of fortunes, just as Vaghela’s exit from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) helped the Congress in the mid-90s, this time around the advantage is for the ruling BJP," a LiveMint article says of Vaghela.

If the claims of the Congress party are true about GPP and JD(U) support, despite the reports of one Congress MLA defecting, Patel can still manage to touch the magic number of 45. The Congress also claims that a BJP MLA has voted in their favour, which although an unlikely outcome, will add much needed counts on Patel's slate, if true.

It all boils down to hard numbers in the end; no matter which camp they come from. The Congress party may still manage a touch-and-go with the help of lone Gujarat Parivartan Party and Janata Dal (United) MLAs.

Despite one Congress MLA cross-voting, Ahmed Patel may still scrape through

Ashok Gehlot said that Shankersinh Vaghela had been saying that he would vote for Ahmed Patel despite leaving Congress. He, however, today turned around and claimed he did not vote for Patel. "This flip-flop in his stance only shows that he is under some sort of pressure. He is otherwise a politically mature leader, in my knowledge, and I don't see why his actions and words will vary so much if not for a pressure," Gehlot said.

Speaking to CNN-News 18, Chotubhai Vasava confirmed that he cast his voted for Ahmed Patel claiming that the country is being run by cronies and capitalists and he would not back them.

Congress concedes 1 MLA cross-voted, says we still have support of 45 MLAs

Anandiben Patel says the fight is only between Vaghela and Ahmed Patel, it's not BJP's fight

Polling is closed for the Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls as all 176 MLAs have cast their votes.

The party has said that the two votes should be cancelled at the time of the counting

Congress has claimed that two of its MLAs who have cross-voted for the BJP showed their ballot to the people present inside the polling station, despite the fact that the polling was being conducted by a secret ballot.

Out of these 44 MLAs, the Congress conceded that one has cross-voted, reducing the number to 43.

Congress initially had 57 MLAs but after six of its MLAs quit, the number of Congress MLAs was reduced to 51. Out of these 51 MLAs, six MLAs (including Vaghela did not vote for Ahmed Patel). That leaves the Congress with the support of 44 MLAs.

Balwantsinh Rajput is a former chief whip of Congress, and a relative of Shankersinh Vaghela. The proposal of Rajput as the third candidate was to ensure that Ahmed gets a tough fight in the elections. Similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajput started his journey from selling tea but is now the owner of Gokul group, according to reports.

Whoever has cross-voted will be suspended with immediate effect: Ashok Gehlot

Congress MLA Mahendrasinh Vaghela and NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja had taken Amit Shah's blessings by touching his feet. NCP high command had asked its party MLAs to vote for UPA.

"Nitish Kumar did not contact me over voting, and there was nothing like a whip issued by the party in this regard. The decision to vote for Patel was my own," he said. - PTI

The lone JD(U) MLA in Gujarat, Chhotu Vasava, said he voted for Ahmed Patel in the polls as the ruling BJP has done little for tribal people and the poor. He said he decided to vote for the Congress candidate as "he is unhappy with the ruling party's works for the poor and tribal population" that he represents.

The counting of votes has been put on hold after the Election Commission took notice of Congress' allegation that two of its legislators had shown their ballot papers to Amit Shah. The BJP claimed that these accusations don't hold water and Congress is just resorting to delaying tactics.

Raghavjibhai Patel, one of the two MLAs against whom Congress has filed the complaint, defended himself and told CNN-News18 that he is being framed because he didn't vote for Congress. He also said that he didn't show anything to anyone. Congress had alleged that Raghavjibhai Patel and Bholabhai Gohil had shown their votes to Amit Shah.

Raghavjibhai Patel defends himself, says he is being framed

Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said that Congress' objections over the votes of two of its legislators have been rejected by the Returning Officer. He further said that the state election commission has submitted its report and the counting will begin after the Election Commission's nod.

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Congress is levelling baseless allegations and they did not protest about it in the morning. Countering Prasad, Ahmed Patel said that the complaint was filed immediately but the Returning Officer did not do anything.

Patel, who is literally living on the edge, as far as this poll is concerned, has probably emptied out all the aces up his sleeve.

In case the two votes are cancelled, the total number of votes will come down to 174 from 176. Six MLAs of the Congress have already resigned from the House and have joined the BJP in the House of 182. This is no respite for Patel as there is also a possibility that cross-voting might have happened and it is not an act that can lead to disqualification of votes. Also, there is another worry of rejection of votes if proper voting norms were not followed.

Why disqualification of two votes may not be enough to save Ahmed Patel

The votes were polled in the morning, so why did Congress wait so long to raise their objections? We have met the Election Commission and requested them to start counting of votes at the earliest.

High-ranking leaders of both BJP and the Congress are meeting Election Commission officers, with the former urging them to start counting of votes at the earliest, while the latter is insisting two MLAs' votes be disqualified.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad denied the Congress' accusations that votes of 11 of its MLAs were rejected in Haryana in June 2016, and this should be used as precedence in this case. "The Congress MLAs' votes were rejected in 2016 because they used a different colour pen. That cannot be used as a precedence because the issues were completely different," he said.

After delegations from Congress and BJP presented their cases before the Election Commission, the EC is holding an empowered meeting in New Delhi to debate what the future course of action will be. The returning officer has reportedly sent in his recommendations to the EC, and the officers will decide whether to uphold these or not.

After two delegations comprising senior party leaders met the Election Commission, the Congress is reportedly readying a third delegation to meet the EC.

JD(U) leader KC Tyagi confirms the party's Gujarat party secretary Arun Srivastava has been fired after its leader Chhotubhai Vasava voted for Congress' Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha polls.

"It is the misuse of muscle power, money power and government machinery. To get just one seat, the entire might of central government, Gujarat government, BJP and RSS, their muscle power and money power, everything has been misused to subvert the elections," said senior Congress leader AK Antony.

Congress hits out at BJP over using 'money power' and 'money power'

Senior Congress leader Ambika Soni said the party has sufficient MLAs to elect its candidate, but accused BJP of "weakening democracy" with its actions. "If by bypassing anti-defection law, bypassing political morality and laws, they have a fourth candidate which is unusual. BJP is doing a lot of things that are weakening democracy. If BJP thinks they can get away by using their power or they have their habit of ham-handing, then we will not allow them. We will not allow the BJP to frighten us or browbeat us," the Congress leader said.

With just minutes to go before the Election Commission announces its decision on resuming counting, is the Congress throwing in the towel? Is that what the statements of AK Antony and Ambika Soni indicate? Or is it a red-herring? We will know before midnight hopefully.

The Election Commission has given a breather to the Congress, saying the two rebel MLAs' votes will be considered "invalid", since they displayed their voting choice to BJP party president Amit Shah.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi says BJP's attempts to win "by hook or by crook" have failed, and said he is confident the disqualification of two rebel MLAs will ensure party candidate Ahmed Patel will get his victory.

Now that the Election Commission has declared the votes of the two Congress rebel MLAs as invalid, the returning officer in Gandhinagar will recount and declare results. But the question is: Does Ahmed Patel have enough first preference votes to win even now? Or did more Congress MLAs ditch the party? A nail biting finish is awaited.

Now that the Election Commission has declared the votes of the two Congress rebel MLAs as invalid, the returning officer in Gandhinagar will recount and declare results. But the question is: Does Ahmed Patel have enough first preference votes to win even now? Or did more Congress MLAs ditch the party? A nail biting finish is awaited.

With two votes being disqualified, the magic number has gone down from 45 to 44.

With the Election Commission having disqualified two votes, counting of all 176 MLAs' votes has begun in Gandhinagar.

Congress candidate Ahmed Patel has spoken to the media after the Election Commission gave him a breather by disqualifying two rebel Congress MLAs' votes, in which he has said he is confident of reaching the magic figure of 44 votes. "Appreciate the (EC's) decision. Quota will come down to 44. I am confident of getting it," he said.

Gujarat Congress leader Shailesh Parmar, who was in the counting room with Election Commission officers, has declared results of the Rajya Sabha polls, saying BJP president Amit Shah, Union minister Smriti Irani, and Ahmed Patel have all been elected.

Congress' Renuka Chaudhary says, "We will look into the reduced margin of victory and will see how to set things right, but we have won."

Congress happy with victory, but says will look to set right 'reduced margin'

Ahmed Patel says, "I contested as a candidate, not Sonia Gandhi's secretary. My victory will boost the morale of party workers ahead of Assembly elections later this year. I wish they hadn't fought the elections like they did. It seemed like there was a witch-hunt against me."

Gujarat Congress leader Shailesh Parmar, who was in the counting room with Election Commission officers, has declared results of the Rajya Sabha polls, saying BJP president Amit Shah, Union minister Smriti Irani, and Ahmed Patel have all been elected.

I want to thank each & every MLA who voted for me despite unprecedented intimidation & pressure from BJP.They voted for an inclusive India

Congress' Renuka Chaudhary says, "We will look into the reduced margin of victory and will see how to set things right, but we have won."

Congress happy with victory, but says will look to set right 'reduced margin'

Money, muscle and manipulation could not win in the Gujarat RS election.

साम,दाम,दण्ड,भेद हमेशा नहीं चलते। Treachery,immorality & misuse of State power defeated in Gujarat at the altar of truth and principles.

BJP stands exposed of personal vendetta and political terror. People of Gujarat will give them a befitting reply in this year's election

Congratulations Smt @smritiirani ji for once again becoming a member of Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.

Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and leads the truth, Victory of democracy against money power has established it again #GujaratRSPolls

Ahmed Patel says, "I contested as a candidate, not Sonia Gandhi's secretary. My victory will boost the morale of party workers ahead of Assembly elections later this year. I wish they hadn't fought the elections like they did. It seemed like there was a witch-hunt against me."

Latest update: Voting for Gujarat Rajya Sabha poll closes early as all 176 MLAs have cast their votes

Speaking to CNN-News 18, Chotubhai Vasava confirmed that he cast his voted for Ahmed Patel claiming that the country is being run by cronies and capitalists and he would not back them. His support will all that count for Patel as this undeclared support is expected to fetch him the magic score of 45, despite one of the 44 Congress MLA cross-voting.

Suspense mounted over the fate of Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, seeking a fifth term in the Rajya Sabha, with the BJP going all out to stymie his efforts in the biennial elections on Tuesday.

The 44 Congress MLAs, who were flown to Bengaluru to prevent "poaching" by the BJP, returned to the state on Monday.

They were moved to the Nijanand Resort near Anand. Their family members visited the resort for the Raksha Bandhan festival.

Of the 57 party legislators in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, six quit the party on July 26 and three of them joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on July 28. Of the remaining 51 MLAs, seven, including Shankersinh Vaghela, did not join those who were flown to Bengaluru.

Patel, who needs 45 first preference votes in a House with an effective strength of 176 MLAs, expressed confidence that he will win the election with the support of 44 party MLAs, and the backing of two NCP and a lone JD-U member.

"I have spoken to Sharad Pawarji and he has promised all help to the Congress. They have even issued a whip. As for Vaghela, he has himself promised that he will vote for me and I believe he will keep his word," he said.

Asked about allegations of surveillance on him and Congress MLAs by the ruling BJP, he said: "I don't know why I am targeted like this. This is an example of a banana republic.

"I have full confidence in my victory tomorrow despite the BJP's attempts and the numbers will surprise everyone," Patel said at a private resort near Anand where the 44 MLAs are lodged.

On Tuesday, the legislators will directly go to state capital Gandhinagar to vote for the party's Rajya Sabha nominee Ahmed Patel.

BJP chief Amit Shah and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani are contesting the other two seats, which the BJP is sure to win. The party fielded Congress defector Balwantsinh Rajput as the third candidate in its bid to defeat Patel.

"As all of us are united. The BJP cannot threaten any of our MLAs. Horse trading is not possible with those who are with us," party's lawmaker Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters outside the airport before leaving for Ahmedabad.

In New Delhi, the Congress expressed confidence of Ahmed Patel's win, despite the BJP's attempts to lure MLAs through money, power and threats.

"BJP, by adopting cheap methods, is conspiring to turn minority votes into majority in Gujarat," the Congress said.

"They can make all attempts to insult the people's mandate... But we are confident that Ahmed Patel is going to be victorious...," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala while briefing reporters.

"People have rejected them. It will be proven in the assembly elections. BJP is worried about the loss in Gujarat, therefore they are trying their best to further lower the level of politics.

"However much they (BJP) try to conspire, Congress will walk the path of truth and will win," he added.

Gujarat has seldom experienced political suspense since 1995 when the first BJP government came to power, and after Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has fortified the state like a fiefdom. All the 26 Lok Sabha candidates in the state are from Modi's party.

Problems started when Congress veteran, the maverick 77-year-old Shankersinh Vaghela, called it quits at a public show of strength on his July 21 birthday over not being made the chief ministerial candidate for the 2017 assembly elections and not being handed over the complete reins of the campaign.

On Monday, Vaghela said he was not in touch with Congress MLAs.

He also said his relations with Congress leader Ahmed Patel were "very cordial".

Vaghela, who resigned from the Congress in July, told NDTV in an interview that there was no question of getting any offer from the BJP.

Asked about his vote, Vaghela said voting was the "property of a MLA". I don't want to expose it."

Asked about speculation that he had been offered the post of Governor by the BJP, Vaghela said there were no talks between him and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"There is no question of any offer," he said and added that BJP leaders were not in touch with him.