BTP abstentions paved way for Narhari Amin’s victory

Gandhinagar: The decision of

Bharatiya Tribal Party

MLAs Chhotu Vasava and his son Mahesh

Vasava

not to vote in the Rajya Sabha election ensured a rather comfortable win for the BJP’s third candidate,

Narhari Amin

. Had they voted for a Congress candidate, the election would have been a much closer affair.

The two BTP MLAs said that they would vote only if they got a written assurance on the welfare of

tribals

, migrants and Dalits. Even as voting was under way, leaders of both BJP and Congress met the father-son duo, to persuade them to vote in their favour.

BTP chief Chhotu Vasava said he and Mahesh had decided not to vote for any party, as both BJP and Congress have failed the tribal people of the state. “Our demands for the welfare of tribals and other downtrodden sections of society have not been met, and I do not think they will ever be. So we decided to abstain from voting,” he said.

“Though our votes are important, the people we represent are more important to us,” Mahesh Vasava had said earlier in the day.

The Congress’ second candidate, Bharatsinh Solanki, lost to BJP’s Narhari Amin. Solanki secured 31 first-preference votes while Amin got 34.