Gujarat RS polls: Balwantsinh Rajput challenges EC order in High Court

GANDHINAGAR: The battle over the recently held Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat reached the doors of judiciary on Friday, with defeated BJP candidate Balwantsinh Rajput filing a plea, to quash the decision of the Election Commission (EC) of invalidating two votes.

It was the invalidation of two Congress voters Raghavji Patel and Bholabhai Gohil that led to the defeat of Rajput in Rajya Sabha's election that was held in the state on August 8. Arguing that the EC does not have the power to direct the returning officer to accept or reject any vote as valid and invalid, Rajput claimed that earlier in the day, the returning officer had declined to entertain the objection raised by the Congress representative Shaktisinh Gohil.

Rajput also alleged that Congress candidate indulged in corrupt practices of bribery and undue influence over the voters as he took the MLAs in a luxurious resort in a distance place and kept them in captivity spending huge amount of money on their entertainment and demanded that Patel be disqualified and barred from contesting election for a period of six years.