Faced with massive BJP majority in Assembly, Congress to not field candidates for polls to three RS seats from Gujarat

The Congress on Friday said it would not field candidates for polls to three Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat as it did not have enough MLAs in the 182-member Assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party had won a record 156 seats in Assembly polls held late last year, while the Congress saw its worst performance since the state was formed by managing to get just 17 seats.

The Election Commission of India last month announced that elections to three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat would be held on July 24.

"Since our party does not have the required strength in the 182-member Assembly, we have decided not to field candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the state," Gujarat Congress chief spokesperson Manish Doshi said.

Notably, the ruling BJP has not announced its candidates yet.

Of the 11 Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat, eight are currently held by BJP and the rest by the Congress.

Of the eight held by BJP, the terms of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as well as Jugalji Thakor and Dinesh Anavadiya will end on August 18. Polls will be held for these three seats.

The last date to file nominations is July 13 and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is July 17. Polling will be held on July 24 if required.