Rajasthan: BJP expels MLA Shobharani Kushwaha for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls

Rajasthan BJP on Saturday suspended MLA Shobharani Kushwaha from the party's primary membership for engaging in cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, Gulab Chand Kataria expelled Kushwaha for allegedly voting in favour of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari in Friday's polls. She has been given 7 days' time to clarify why she voted against the party's whip.

In the Rajya Sabha elections from Rajasthan, Congress emerged victorious by winning all three seats contested by it, while the BJP bagged one seat. Congress had fielded Pramod Tiwari, Mukul Wasnik, and Randeep Singh Surjewala to the Upper House from Rajasthan, while BJP fielded former MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari. Independent candidate and media baron Subhash Chandra, who was supported by the BJP, lost the elections.

Congratulating the newly-elected Congress MPs, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot called it a "victory of democracy". Gehlot hoped that the members will strongly advocate the rights of Rajasthan in the Parliament. 

Gehlot mocks BJP after RS poll victory

Slamming the BJP for its "horse-trading" attempts, Gehlot said, Congress always had the required numbers for the majority, but BJP engaged in horse-trading by fielding an independent. "The solidarity of our MLAs has given a befitting reply to the BJP's effort. They will face a similar defeat in the 2023 assembly elections as well," he stated.

In the 200-member Rajasthan assembly, Congress has 108 MLAs and the BJP has 71 members. The Congress and the BJP were comfortably winning two and one seats, respectively. However, media baron Subhash Chandra's entry into the fray as a BJP-backed independent candidate made the contest interesting for the fourth seat. Chandra had claimed that eight MLAs will cross-vote in his favour and he will win.

Fearing horse-trading at the hands of the BJP, Congress had shifted all its MLAs to Taj Aravali hotel in Udaipur on June 3.