AHMEDABAD: With the deadline for withdrawal of nominations ending on Thursday without a single opposition challenger in the fray, all four BJP candidates were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.
Gujarat is now set to send an all-BJP contingent of 11 members to the Rajya Sabha for the first time, leaving the Congress without any representation from the state in the Upper House.
The Returning Officer officially declared BJP nominees Rajesh (Rajubhai) Shukla, Mukeshbhai Rathwa, Mansinh Parmar, and Jitendra Meghjibhai Kanjaria elected unopposed after no rival candidate remained in the election scheduled to be conducted on June 18.
The outcome was largely expected. In the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, the BJP commands a formidable strength of 161 MLAs, while the Congress has been reduced to just 12 legislators, and the Aam Aadmi Party holds five seats.
Given this arithmetic, neither the Congress nor the AAP saw a realistic path to victory, and both parties stayed away from the contest, making the BJP's victory inevitable even before the nomination process concluded.
For the first time in Gujarat's political history, the Congress will not have a single Rajya Sabha member representing the state. The development is being projected by the BJP as another milestone in its long-standing political expansion in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state.
Celebrations erupted within the party soon after the announcement. Newly elected Rajya Sabha member Mansinh Parmar described the victory as a reflection of the BJP's organisational culture and worker-centric politics.
"Being elected unopposed is a matter of pride. The BJP has always believed in giving opportunities to ordinary workers, and sending grassroots karyakartas to the Rajya Sabha is proof of that commitment. The party's strength lies in its cadre, and this victory belongs to every worker who has dedicated himself to the organisation," Parmar said.
Cabinet Minister Jitu Vaghani used the occasion to launch a sharp political attack on the Congress, claiming that Gujarat was moving towards the idea of a "Congress-free" political landscape.
"This is a historic day for Gujarat. For the first time, the Congress will not have a single Rajya Sabha member from Narendra Modi's home state. The people of Gujarat have repeatedly placed their faith in the BJP and given us an overwhelming mandate. Our strength in the Assembly has become so decisive that the opposition did not even have the courage to file nomination papers. This mandate is the victory of the people and of the BJP's ideology," Vaghani said earlier.