High drama marked the voting procedure at the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) on Friday as the election for the four prime bodies kick-started.

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Some members of the GSHEB allege that to defeat a Congress backed candidate, the BJP bosses had given whip to around 17 members with specific names to vote for the 7-member executive committee panel.

According to information available, some of the members allege that the government had instructed around 14 government officials, including 6 IAS, apart from 3 MLAs, to vote for BJP backed candidates to reduce chances of Congress backed member, Priyavadan Korat. 53 members voted in the election to form the executive committee.

"It was surprising to see government official and MLAs coming with chits in their hands. As they voted, they opened the chit before casting their vote. The situation generated a lot of curiosity as 17 members had come leaving the budget session midway, only to cast their vote in the election," said a member.

The voting was done for 6 seats and voters had a list of 7 members contesting for the seats. The executive committee comprises 7 members but JP Patel was announced uncontested winner earlier. Korat was one of the 7 members contesting for a place in the executive committee.

The member said that earlier the government had instructed many people who filled up the form to contest elections, to withdraw their candidature. "Bowing to government pressure, all the members withdrew except Korat. And to keep Korat out of the committee, a plan was chalked out," said a member.

The executive members who were elected on Friday are Patel Ghanshyam Jivabhai, Patel Shailesh Ramanlal, Desai Rajeshkumar, Patel Saurabh, Shah Piyush and Gosai Lalit, states a communication from the GSHEB. With this, the board has now formed four committees — examination committee, accounts committee, education committee and executive committee.