Ahmedabad, June 19: Kesarisinh Jesangbhai Solanki, a legislator of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Friday arrived in an ambulance to cast his vote during the Rajya Sabha elections being held in Gujarat. Kesarisinh Jesangbhai Solanki, who represents Matar assembly constituency, was hospitalised due to some health issues and arrived at the state assembly directly from the hospital to cast his vote. Polling is held for four Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat.

While both BJP and Congress could have won two seats each, the grand old party might win just one seat as three of its MLAs resigned in June and five in March. The strength of Congress in the state assembly has reduced to 65, short of 6 MLAs to win the second seat. The Congress claimed that it is short of just one vote for the second candidate to win. The BJP fielded three candidates, while the Congress has given tickets to two candidates. Rajya Sabha Elections 2020: How Voting Takes Place And Other Details About Biennial Polls.

Rajya Sabha Polls: Gujarat BJP MLA Kesarisinh Jesangbhai Solanki Arrives at Assembly in Ambulance

BJP has fielded Abhay Bharadwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin, while the Congress has fielded Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki. The BJP, with its numbers, can easily win two seats, while the Congress can bag one seat. But there is a tough fight for the fourth seat between the two parties. As per the numbers, each candidate will require the support of 35 MLAs to win the seat.

While the BJP has 103 MLAs, Congress has 65, Bharatiya Tribal Party has two seats, NCP has one and independent candidate Jignesh Mewani holds one seat. Although the total strength of the assembly is 182, its effective strength has come down to 172 as 10 assembly seats are currently vacant -- eight due to resignations of Congress MLAs and two due to court cases. The counting of votes will begin at 5 pm.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2020 10:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).