Jaishankar, Jugalji Thakor have won Gujarat Rajya Sabha bypolls: Vijay Rupani

The elections were necessitated after BJP leaders Amit Shah and Smriti Irani were elected to the Lok Sabha and subsequently resigned from the Upper House. Congress had nominated Chandrika Chudasama and Gaurav Pandya for the two seats.

Thanking everyone for their support, Jaishankar said, “Like I said during my nomination, External Affairs Minister and Gujarat have a natural partnership. There is no such country where there is no Gujarati. If the prestige of India has increased internationally, Gujarat has a role in it.”

Earlier in the day, Gujarat Congress legislators Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala resigned from the state assembly after they apparently voted against Congress candidates in the bypolls.

“The Congress observer tried to create a lot of issues over my vote, so you can understand for whom did I vote,” Alpesh told The Indian Express after casting his vote.

Fearing cross-voting, the Congress on Wednesday shifted 65 MLAs to Balaram Palace Resort near Palanpur in Banaskatha district. The party had challenged the Election Commission’s decision to hold separate elections to the Rajya Sabha seats in the state. However, the petition was dismissed by the apex court.