Defeat of the Party's candidate in the Biennial Election to Rajya Sabha (March 1968) in Gujarat

Summary

This seven-page Swatantra Party memorandum, signed by General Secretary N. Dandekar, reconstructs the party’s handling of the March 1968 Gujarat biennial election to the Rajya Sabha. It explains how the Central Parliamentary Board overrode the Gujarat State Parliamentary Board’s recommendation of B. R. Shenoy and selected Dr. Biharilal Anantani, whose election in 1966 was secured through an understanding with Babubhai Vaidya’s Independent Progressive Group. The memorandum presents these arrangements as commitments that shaped the party’s later candidate selection.

Key points

• The Gujarat unit had only 26 members against the 31 first-preference votes needed to win a Rajya Sabha seat in 1966, making support from opposition groups decisive.
• The party recorded an understanding under which second-preference votes from Babubhai Vaidya’s group would support Anantani in 1966, while Vaidya would receive the party’s support in 1968.
• The Central Parliamentary Board reaffirmed Babubhai Vaidya as its sole candidate for the 1968 election and instructed that U. N. Mahida and B. R. Shenoy should not contest independently.
• Mahida and Shenoy nevertheless filed nominations; Shenoy withdrew, while Mahida continued despite written requests from the Gujarat party leadership.
• Mahida won with 47 votes, while Vaidya received 27 and lost; the memorandum then considers disciplinary charges against Mahida and several of his supporters.
• The attached 13 March 1968 letter argues that the party’s obligation to honour political commitments was necessary both for its reputation and for future alliances against Congress.