Notices of Election issued for Rajya Sabha by-polls in Gujarat

Separate 'notices of election' were issued for by-polls to two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat Tuesday, to be held on July 5.

Returning Officer C B Pandya issued notices announcing by-elections to two seats which fell vacant due to the election of Smriti Irani and Amit Shah to the Lok Sabha. Both had been elected to the Upper House from Gujarat in 2017.

Pandya, a deputy secretary at the Gujarat Legislature Secretariat, has been appointed as the Returning Officer.

As per the notices, the last date of submitting nomination papers is June 25. Scrutiny of papers would be conducted on June 26 and the last date of withdrawal is June 28.

If more than one candidates remain in the fray, polling will be held separately on July 5 between 9 am and 4 pm. Results will be declared at 5 pm the same day.

Irked by the EC's decision to conduct separate polling for the two seats, which has diminished the Congress' chances of winning at least one of them, the state unit of the party has already moved the Supreme Court.

The petition filed by Paresh Dhanani, Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, has sought a direction to the Election Commission to hold the by-polls together.

The EC said in a statement on June 15 that vacancies for by-polls to all legislatures are considered as "separate vacancies" and separate polls are held though they could be held on the same day and at the same time.

"The EC's conduct proves it is working under some pressure....its announcement is akin to a murder of democracy and people have started doubting its credibility," Gujarat Congress chief Amit Chavda said Tuesday.

State BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said the Congress was unable to digest its defeat.

"When the EC took similar decisions in 1994 and 2009, the Congress had not protested," he said.