The Rajya Sabha election for three seats in Gujarat, where assembly polls are due later this year, is being closely watched as BJP national president Amit Shah will make his parliament debut, Union minister Smriti Irani has been renominated for another term and the Congress has put up Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term.
The battle is set against the backdrop of dramatic political developments including the revolt in the Congress by veteran leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, resignation of half a dozen party legislators and shifting of 43 MLAs to a Bengaluru resort to protect them from what the Congress has called as "poaching" attempts by the BJP. Mr Shah is camping in Gujarat and strategising on how to make all the three BJP candidates emerge victorious.
The Rajya Sabha election for three seats in Gujarat, where assembly polls are due later this year, is being closely watched as BJP national president Amit Shah will make his parliament debut, Union minister Smriti Irani has been renominated for another term and the Congress has put up Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term.
The battle is set against the backdrop of dramatic political developments including the revolt in the Congress by veteran leader Shankarsinh Vaghela, resignation of half a dozen party legislators and shifting of 43 MLAs to a Bengaluru resort to protect them from what the Congress has called as "poaching" attempts by the BJP. Mr Shah is camping in Gujarat and strategising on how to make all the three BJP candidates emerge victorious.