Ahmed Patel, Smriti Irani file RS nomination papers

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Ahmed
Patel and actress-politician Smriti Irani were among nine
candidates who filed their nominations on Monday in four
states for the July 22 Rajya Sabha (upper house of Indian
Parliament) elections.
Besides Smriti Irani, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)
veteran Dileep Pandya filed their nominations in Gujarat (west
Indian state).
Both Patel and Irani are sure to return to the upper
house, riding on their parties' numerical strength in the
state assembly. In fact, while BJP is sure to see both its
candidates through, Patel is the lone party candidate for RS
in the state.
In Panaji, senior Goa Congress leader Shantaram Naik
filed the papers for the lone Rajya Sabha seat the election
for which is scheduled for July 22.
Congress has 20 votes, BJP 14, NCP 3, Maharashtrawadi
Gomantak Party (MGP) two and an independent in the 40 seat Goa
assembly.
Opposition BJP, which does not have strength on its own
to win a single seat in Goa, is banking on a consensus
candidate to upset Congress.

Maharashtra (western Indian state) Congress leader
Hussain Dalwai filed his nomination for the bye-election to
fill the vacancy in Rajya Sabha created by the resignation of
Prithviraj Chavan in April this year following his shifting to
the state as Chief Minister.
In West Bengal, 4 Trinamool Congress leaders, including
Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Srinjoy Bose and Debabrata Bandyopadhyay,
entered the race for RS seats.
CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury had filed his
papers for re-election to the upper house from the state as
the lone Left Front candidate on July eight while PCC
President Pradip Bhattacharya will file his nomination
tomorrow.
Trinamool Congress is sure to secure four of the six
Rajya Sabha seats, its ally Congress one while opposition
CPI(M), after the drubbing in Apri-May assembly polls, is
expected to secure just one, given the current legislative
arithmetic.