In what could spell further trouble for Congress in Gujarat, party leader Ahmed Patel's election to Rajya Sabha earlier this month has been challenged in the Gujarat High Court on Friday.
The petition was filed by BJP's candidate Balwantsingh Rajput, who had finished fourth. The hearing is likely to take place next week.
Rajput has also challenged cancellation of two votes of rebel Congress MLAs by the Election Commission. After objection by the Congress, the poll panel had, on technical grounds, cancelled votes of Raghavji Patel and Bholabhai, who had cross-voted for the BJP candidate.
Appearing on behalf of Rajput, advocate Satyapal Jain said that Patel's election should be cancelled on the grounds that the Congress' move of taking 44 of its MLAs to Karnataka is considered as a “corrupt practice”.
It has also been demanded that Patel be disqualified for a term of six years.
Jain said that the candidate should not threaten the voter. According to sources, the applicant argued that the phones of Congress MLAs were taken away by the party leaders.
The application comes ten days after Patel was declared winner in one of the three Rajya Sabha seats that fell vacant this month. BJP national president Amit Shah and Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani won the other two seats.
Rajput is a distant relative of senior leader Shankersinh Vaghela, who resigned from the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha election.
