BJP suspends Rajasthan MLA for cross-voting

Shobharani Kushwah, a Rajasthan MLA, was suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections in support of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari.

Gulab Chand Kataria, the BJP’s primary membership chairman, issued an order claiming that Kushwah voted for Tiwari despite a whip, and that she was being suspended from the party.

Kataria also requested that the MLA explain why she voted against the whip in the letter.

Satish Poonia, the BJP’s state president, said the situation had been reported to the party’s high headquarters.

For the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, the Congress fielded three candidates, while the BJP fielded one and backed an independent candidate.

BJP gains three RS seats in Maharashtra, which is a setback for the MVA.

The Bharatiya Janata Party won three of the six Rajya Sabha seats on Saturday, dealing a severe setback to Maharashtra’s ruling coalition of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party, and Congress, which questioned the eight-hour delay in counting votes.

Piyush Goyal, a Union minister, and former state minister Anil Bonde, as well as Dhananjay Mahadik, were among the BJP’s winners.

The elections were also won by Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena, Praful Patel of the NCP, and Imran Pratapgarhi of the Congress.

Goyal received 48 votes, Bonde 48, Mahadik 41.56, Raut 41, Pratapgarhi 44, and Patel 43 votes out of a total of 284 valid votes cast.

The BJP fielded former MP Dhananjay Mahadik, whereas the Shiv Sena fielded Sanjay Pawar, who lost. Mahadik and Pawar are natives of Kolhapur, Maharashtra, in western India.

The high-stakes race for the sixth was a nail-biting affair, with the Congress and BJP trading accusations and even approaching the Election Commission.

“Elections are fought not for the sake of fighting, but for the sake of winning.” “Jai Maharashtra,” said BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, whose failure to name a consensus candidate for the Rajya Sabha resulted in the state’s first election in 24 years.

After an eight-hour wait, the counting of votes began, despite accusations from the BJP and the ruling coalition about cross-voting and rule violations.

Both the BJP and the Shiv Sena filed complaints with the Election Commission, alleging cross-voting and asking for ballots to be disqualified.

After the poll commission instructed the Maharashtra Rajya Sabha election returning officer to reject Shiv Sena legislator Suhas Kande’s vote, the counting of votes began after 1 a.m. In less than two hours, the first result was released.

Following the shocking defeat, Congress leaders conceded that the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi had coordination problems.