The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, 22 May announced biennial elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat, setting the stage for what could be the Congress party's first-ever complete exit from the Upper House in the state since Gujarat's formation in 1960. Polling is scheduled for 18 June, with 8 June as the last date for filing nominations.

The Four Seats at Stake

The vacancies arise from the retirement of three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs — Rambhai Mokariya, Narhari Amin, and Ramila Bara — and Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil, all of whose terms end on 21 June. With the BJP commanding 162 of the 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly, party leaders expect to win all four Rajya Sabha seats comfortably, potentially without a contest.

Why Congress Has No Path to Retain Its Seat

The current Assembly arithmetic leaves the Congress with 12 MLAs, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with 4, and the Samajwadi Party with 1. One MLA elected on an AAP ticket is currently unattached after expulsion from the party. These numbers give the Congress no realistic route to retain Gohil's seat. If the BJP secures all four, the Congress will hold zero Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat — a historic first and a significant symbolic blow to the opposition in a state where the BJP has governed for nearly three decades.

Who Is Shaktisinh Gohil

Shaktisinh Gohil, a senior Congress leader from Bhavnagar district, has been one of the party's most prominent faces in Gujarat for over three decades. He has served as Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly and held portfolios including finance, education, health, and Narmada development in earlier Congress governments. He entered the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat in 2020 and later served as president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC).

Profiles of the Other Retiring Members

Narhari Amin, one of Gujarat's senior-most politicians, served as deputy chief minister in the late 1990s before joining the BJP after a long stint with the Congress. Rambhai Mokariya is regarded as an influential BJP organisational figure from the Saurashtra region. Ramila Bara has represented tribal communities in Parliament and is associated with the BJP's outreach among Scheduled Tribe voters in south Gujarat.

Broader Rajya Sabha Elections Across 10 States

These Gujarat elections are part of a wider exercise covering 24 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states, as members retire between 21 June and 19 July. Besides Gujarat, polling will be held for four seats each in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand, and one each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. Among the prominent leaders retiring are former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge from Karnataka, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, Union minister George Kurian from Madhya Pradesh, and Union minister Ravneet Singh from Rajasthan. The ECI has fixed 9 June for scrutiny of nominations, 11 June as the last date for withdrawal of candidature, and counting on the evening of 18 June.

With the BJP's numerical dominance in the Gujarat Assembly showing no signs of weakening, the June elections are likely to formalise the party's near-total grip on the state's representation in the Upper House.