What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and state BJP chief CR Patil were also present
NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajya Sabha candidate Dr S Jaishankar filed his nomination form at the Gujarat Legislative Assembly today.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and state BJP president CR Patil were present on the occasion.
“I have just filled up the form from Gujarat as a Rajya Sabha candidate. I would like to thank PM Narendra Modi, BJP workers and the public of Gujarat, with whose blessings I am getting another chance to represent the state of Gujarat,” Dr Jaishankar said after filing his nomination papers.
“I am fortunate to be associated with Gujarat, which is termed a model state. The development it has achieved has been recognised across the world,” he added.
Speaking about PM Modi’s nine years at the helm in the centre, Dr Jaishankar said, “In the past nine years, under the leadership of PM Modi, changes have come in a better way, especially in foreign affairs policy. I am sure in the coming years things will improve further.”
“There are a lot of developments that have happened with respect to trade, our relations with other countries and security have also improved,” he added.
The Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the election of 10 Rajya Sabha seats on July 24.
Three Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat will go to polls, with Dineshchandra Anavadiya, Jugalsinh Lokhandwala and Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar retiring on August 18.
While Jaishankar has filed nominations for one seat, the BJP has yet to announce candidates for the rest of the two seats. “No announcement yet on the other two seat names. Probably in the coming days (July 11-12), we will announce the names,” Gujarat BJP general secretary Pradeepsinh Vaghela told The New Indian.
With 156 legislators in the Gujarat assembly, the BJP is likely to win all three seats.
Along with three MPs from Gujarat, Goa BJP MP Vinay Tendulkar, Trinamool Congress’ Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Shanta Chetri, Sushmita Dev and Pradeep Bhattacharjee from Congress in West Bengal are all also set to retire next month.
Former diplomat Dr Jaishankar was appointed as MEA after PM Modi stormed back to power in May 2019.
He was sworn in as cabinet minister on May 30, 2019. On July 5, 2019, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP candidate from Gujarat.
Dr Jaishankar succeeded the late Sushma Swaraj, who was the External Affairs Minister in PM Modi’s cabinet in his first stint in the PM office.
The Rajya Sabha election notification was issued on July 6. July 13 is the last date for filing nominations for the vacant Rajya Sabha seats. The scrutiny of nominations will happen on July 14. The last date for withdrawal of candidatures is July 17. On July 24, elections are to happen from 9 am to 4 pm on the same day. The counting of votes is to happen at 5 pm.
