Elections to two Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat on Friday promises to be an easy victory for the ruling BJP. The saffron party's candidates include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Jugalji Thakor while the Congress's nominees are Chandrika Chudasama and Gaurav Pandya.

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A meeting of BJP MLAs, in the Gujarat Assembly building on Thursday evening, also saw a mock poll, so as to acquaint MLAs — especially first-timers — with the process and commit no mistake in the crucial real poll.

NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja has also thrown his weight behind the BJP and he was seen attending the BJP MLAs' meeting. Two BJP MLAs — Purshottam Solanki (Bhavnagar Rural) and Shambuji Thakor (Gandhinagar South) — have written to the Election Commission seeking 'helpers' so that they can vote in the elections. Both Solanki and Thakor will be present for the vote but have sought helpers to register their choice on the ballot paper.

Meanwhile, Congress has moved 61 of its MLAs to a resort near Palanpur fearing poaching. On Thursday, 66 MLAs attended the workshop organised for them while rebel leaders Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala did not make an appearance. The party will bring back its flock on Friday morning.

The two seats fell vacant after sitting Rajya Sabha BJP MPs, Amit Shah and Smriti Irani, resigned after their victory in the Lok Sabha elections. Irani defeated Congress president Rahul Gandhi to win Amethi while Shah won Gandhinagar with a victory margin of over 5 lakh.

Number Speak

  • External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is one of the two BJP candidates.
  • Of 182 MLAs, 175 are qualified to vote. Four seats remain vacant while three MLAs were disqualified. The BJP has 100 MLAs.