New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday suspected that the Rajya Sabha by-elections to fill two seats from Gujarat may be held separately by the Election Commission to help the BJP win both the seats.
Its spokesman and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi smelled the rate from the way the EC issued separate notifications declaring the seats of Amit Shah and Smriti Irani falling vacant on different dates their election to the Lok Sabha.
The BJP has 99 MLAs in the Gujarat Assembly and the Congress 77 and as such the Congress is sure to one seat if the voting for both the seats are held simultaneously.
However, if the two by-elections are held on different days, the BJP will win both in the "first-past-the-post" system since it has 20 more lawmakers, Singhvi said.
He said the suspicion of the foul play arose from the separate notifications declaring the two seats vacant and the Congress fears this is to help the BJP.
The Congress has sought time from the Election Commission to submit a petition in this regard. Singhvi said the Congress has already decided to move the Supreme Court if the commission decides to hold the elections separately.
Singhvi contended that the BJP was preparing the ground for delinking the two seats by ensuring that Amit Shah and Smriti Irani resigned on different dates.
He said: "Both Shah and Irani got elected to the Lok Sabha together; they got the certificate on the same day - May 24. If elections to fill up the two vacant seats are held separately, it will be a mockery of constitutional ethos.
Constitutional principle, tradition, norm… everything suggest election should take place together. Separation will be illegal as well as amoral."
"Any attempt to manipulate this to help the BJP will be resisted. I am not saying this, it has happened but we are warning the Election Commission and the BJP not to surreptitiously try this.
If elections are held separately, the ruling party will win both the seats as they have the majority in the Assembly. If the by-elections are held together, the BJP’s strength will go down by one more seat in the Rajya Sabha," Singhvi added.
