Ahmed Patel, Amit Shah & Smriti Irani win RS seats: How the election unfolded

* Congress' Ahmed Patel wins Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat
* Patel received 44 votes, the exact number needed to win the election
* In late-night drama, Election Commission disqualified votes of two Congress rebels
* Amit Shah and Smriti Irani also elected to Rajya Sabha

19:30 In all, 11 Rajya Sabha members — one from Goa, one from Madhya Pradesh, six from West Bengal and three from Gujarat — were elected.

FULL REPORT | Rajya Sabha elections: Here who's got elected and re-elected

19:00 Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav on Wednesday congratulated Congress' Ahmed Patel for winning the election to a Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat, 'in spite of the toughest hurdles'. Full Report

16:34 Why Patel's win matters: A defeat could have meant more trouble for the Congress.

15:51 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also congratulated Ahmed Patel on his victory.

14:57 "How much more evidence do we require to understand
that we opposition parties are up against a ruthless, finely
tuned BJP political machine," Abdullah said.

14:21 Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has said that Congress leader Ahmed Patel's win in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls "should have never been this difficult" and the opposition needs to introspect and shift strategy to counter the BJP in the 2019 general elections.

13:33 Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath says the party has always fought back.

12:59 Amit Shah is choosing to focus on the third anniversary of his tenure as BJP President, thanking his followers his Twitter for their wishes. He has not yet commented on his Rajya Sabha victory or the BJP candidate's defeat to Ahmed Patel.

12:14 There is no confirmation from the BJP yet over whether they will approach the courts over the EC's decision to disallow two votes.

11:39 Kailash Vijayvargiya puts things in perspective. "We have won two seats and Congress only one [in Gujarat], no question of disappointment," the BJP leader tells News18.

11:19 Congress President Sonia Gandhi says she is very happy with Ahmed Patel's victory. "Thank god for the Election Commission," she says.

11:03 Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad says the defeat is a lesson for the BJP and they are free to approach any court.

10:33 JD(U) legislator Chhotubhai Vasava is also believed to have voted for Ahmed Patel, defying the party whip.

10:22 JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav has congratulated Ahmed Patel on his Rajya Sabha victory. The JD(U) is now part of the NDA, but Yadav has been against the idea.

09:55 Meanwhile, six leaders were elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal on Wednesday. Five of them were from the Trinamool Congress -Derek O'Brien, Dola Sen, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Manas Bhunia, Shanta Chhetri. Pradip Bhattachya of the Congress was also elected to the Upper House.

09:12 While Smriti Irani has taken to Twitter to express her joy at being elected to the Rajya Sabha, there is no official word yet from Amit Shah, who was also elected and completes three years as BJP President today.

08:28 There is speculation that the BJP may approach the courts regarding the Election Commission's decision to disqualify the two votes. We should get some clairty as the day progresses.

08:10 In the end, it was two disqualified votes that helped take Ahmed Patel over the line. Here's a recap.

07:50 Ahmed Patel has gone from a low-profile politician to the centre of attention in the past month. Here's a short history of Patel's career.

07:40 Why does Patel's win matter so much? Read our report.

07:30 After late-night drama that saw Ahmed Patel retain his seat, we can expect to see reactions pour in through the day.

02:30 That's all from the Rajya Sabha election for now. Log on to www. moneycontrol.com for coverage of the Rajya Sabha elections during the day. Thanks for staying tuned.

02:15 Celebrations in the Congress ranks have begun in full swing. After his win, Ahmed Patel tweeted, "BJP stands exposed of personal vendetta and political terror. People of Gujarat will give them a befitting reply in this year's election."

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram lauded Congress' resilience. "BJP can break a few weak Congress MLAs, but BJP cannot break the Congress party," he tweeted.

01:52 BJP's Amit Shah, Smriti Irani and Congress' Ahmed Patel have won Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat.

01:45 Congress has begun claiming victory in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha election. Bharat Singh Solanki tells CNN-News18 Ahmed Patel has received 44 votes and won the Rajya Sabha seat. There is no official confirmation from the Election Commission yet.

01:30 Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani says the ballot box has been opened. Counting has begun. Will it complete without any further interruptions?

01:15 There appears no sight to the drama in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls. The BJP is reportedly not allowing the counting of votes to take place. It has asked Election Commission to address its complaint over the issue of privacy of votes, reports CNN-News18. Remember, a battery of BJP leaders including Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Nirmala Sitharaman, RS Prasad and Piyush Goyal had arrived at the EC headquarters on Tuesday evening.

00:35 The cliffhanger doesn't end at EC disqualification. BJP MLA Nalin Kotadiya says he voted for Congress nominee Ahmed Patel. This is likely to tilt the scales in favour of Patel.

23:57 Reactions coming from the BJP camp now. Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel says the party doesn't agree with the Election Commission's move. Shaktisinh Gohil Ji was angry when MLA showed him his vote, tried to snatch the ballot paper, he says.

23:50 The Election Commission's decision is a big win for democracy. It will boost the morale of Congress workers. Ahmed Patel will win with big margin, says Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki.

23:47 Modhwadia lauds the Returning Officer, says he didn't act under pressure from the BJP. We welcome Election Commission's decision, he says.

23:45 The Congress MLA votes that are disqualified belong to Bhola Bhai Gohil and Raghav Bhai Patel, says Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia while briefing the media. He adds that after they voted, the duo waved their ballot papers to the BJP candidates.

23:40 The process of counting shall now begin after the two votes are "segregated".

23:36 The wait on the Election Commission verdict has ended. Big setback for the BJP. The EC has disqualified the votes cast by two rebel Congress MLAs, reports CNN-News18.

23:00 Reports indicate that Election Commission is set to give a go-ahead to the counting of votes. It will intimate the Gujarat Election Commission of its decision. Meanwhile, the BJP brass including Amit Shah are awaiting EC's decision at the counting centre in Gandhinagar.

22:30 The BJP has brought in an "army"of Union Ministers at the Election Commission headquarters to "suppress the truth", says Congress leader Surjewala.

22:00 Election Commission officials didn't meet Congress and BJP leaders after they turned up at its headquarters. The officials are holding a closed-door meeting now.

21:58 The BJP leadership is going all-out to hit back at the Congress. Here's what the party leaders have said on Congress' charges and the Election Commission.

Union Minister RS Prasad: Congress cannot put undue pressure on the Election Commission.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal: Congress indulging in complete. Their allegations are completely baseless.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan: We are confident about EC's judgement. It will be giving its opinion on counting soon.

21:20 CNN-News18 reports that Election Commission officials have reviewed the video and that the counting will be completed tonight. No word yet on the decision over the validity of votes cast by two MLAs.

21:08 Meanwhile, BJP leader has come to the party's defence. He says voting was conducted in a fair manner while urging the Election Commission to commence counting at the earliest.

20:27 The Election Commission must reject these ballot papers as it did in Haryana in June 2016, Chidambaram adds.

20:25 Congress leader P Chidambaram is speaking to media now. There is enough evidence that ballot papers of 2 MLAs were seen by people other than those authorised to see, Chidambaram. The Congress urges disqualification of the 2 votes, he says.

20:15 Congress leader Anand Sharma makes a case for vote disqualification. One of our MLAs had mistakenly showed his vote in Haryana and his vote was rejected. Same was done in Gujarat, so it should be rejected, says Sharma.

20:00 The BJP now says that it has urged EC to reject Congress' plea. RS Prasad says the voting process was fair and nothing can be done once votes are cast.

19:30 Even Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nirmala Sitharaman have reached Election Commission.

19:25 BJP leadership comprising Union Ministers MA Naqvi, Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan reaches EC headquarters in Delhi.

19:15  BJP likely to retaliate to Congress allegations. Reports say BJP will move EC on the issue.
Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia says that the BJP is putting pressure on the Election Commission. The BJP has objected to Congress' request that of watching the video in presence of EC's presiding officer and the BJP, he says.

18:57 Rebel Congress MLA Raghav Ji Patel tells News18 that he didn't flash ballot paper to anybody, except Congress party agent. He denies all the allegations, says Congress was losing elections and thus resorting to such actions.  He adds that he supported the BJP by voting against the Congress while reiterating that he didn't flash his ballot paper.

18:40 The Gujarat Election Commission has sent Congress's complaint to the Election Commission of India. Counting will start only after the local body receives a response from the CEC, reports News18.

18:10 Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and RPN Singh are addressing the media outside the Election Commission. He says the party wants cancellation of two votes. There is a legal ground for quashing of votes, he adds. The party has expressed its concerns and raised a complaint with EC, says Singh.

Surjewala says that Congress has communicated its grievances to the EC in writing and has given evidence to support their claim.

17:50 Secrecy of votes is sacrosanct in any election. In the case of Rajya Sabha polls, MLAs are allowed to show their ballot papers only to their respective party agent.

17:46 Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and RPN Singh have approached the Election Commission to demand quashing of votes of 2 Congress MLAs. They seek disqualification on the ground that the MLAs publicly showed votes (ballot papers), according to ANI.

17:40 Interesting developments coming in. JD (U) leader KC Tyagi tells ANI that the party's Gujarat MLA Chotubhai Vasava voted for the BJP after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked him to vote for the BJP.

17:32 The complaint has delayed the counting. The party says that votes of MLAs who showed their ballot papers to Amit Shah must be disqualified. The BJP claims that the Congress is resorting to delaying tactics.

17:30 Two Congress MLAs Bholabhai and Raghavji Bhai voted for BJP and publicly showed their votes, says Gohil.

17:24 Two Congress MLAs voted for the BJP and showed their votes to Amit Shahji, it has been video-graphed, says Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil. If voter shows his vote to anyone other than party's authorised agent, then the vote gets rejected, he adds.

17:10: Congress has lodged complaint with Election Commission. The party says that 2 MLAs who showed their ballot papers to Amit Shah must be disqualified.

16:52 Counting will begin in 10 minutes from now. A reminder that Amit Shah and Smriti Irani are also in the fray from Gujarat. In addition, seven other seats are up for grabs in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.

16:33 Chotubhai Vasava confirmed voting for Ahmed Patel in the election because he was opposed to his party JD(U) president Nitish Kumar forming an alliance with the BJP in Bihar.

16:08 Election officials have told NDTV that counting will begin at 5pm and the result will be known around 6pm.

15:36 Ahead of counting, the Congress believes it has the support of 45 legislators, which is exactly how many votes it needs to get Ahmed Patel elected. These include 43 party MLAs, one from the NCP and one from the JD(U).

15:17 A defeat for Ahmed Patel would constitute a major blow for the Congress, given that he has been a senior party figure for years.

14:55 As we wait for counting to begin, here's a report on what's at stake for Ahmed Patel.

14:38 No clarity yet on when counting will begin. Voting was supposed to end at 4pm, but given that all the MLAs have already voted, counting could possibly take place earlier.

14:23 Ahmed Patel: “Number are in our favour; result should be good. I am confident and optimistic.”

14:15 State election officer says voting has ended with all 176 eligible MLAs having cast their vote.

14:10 So as things stand, we know for sure that one Congress MLA cross-voted while one JD(U) legislator and one NCP legislator voted for Congress candidate Ahmed Patel.

14:00 The sole JD(U) legislator has confirmed to News18 that he voted for Ahmed Patel.

13:50 Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia: We will get more than the number required. We will get two votes more than 45. All our MLAs and two from other parties have also voted for Ahmed Patel.

13:40 Congress' Gujarat in-charge Ashok Gehlot admits that one party MLA cross-voted, but insists that Ahmed Patel will still win.

13:23 A little more than 100 legislators have cast their vote. The deadline is 4pm. Gujarat has 176 MLAs.

13:12 The Congress is now claiming that only have 44 of its MLAs voted for Ahmed Patel, but one BJP legislator has cross-voted.

12:48 "The victory of our candidates is certain. The party had been working for this since announcement of election dates," says former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.

12:28 Senior Congress leaders are insisting that Makwana did not cross-vote.

12:17 Makwana was one of the 'resort MLAs' who were shipped off to Bengaluru.

12:10 CNN-News18 reports that Congress legislator Karamsinh Makwana has cross-voted.

12:03 BJP President Amit Shah has cast his vote. He is set to be elected to Parliament for the first time.

11:38 Wondering how Rajya Sabha members are elected? Here's the lowdown:

A Rajya Sabha member from any state is elected by dividing the total number of eligible votes (legislators) in the assembly with the number of candidates being put up, plus one.

In Gujarat’s case, there were originally 182 eligible votes. After the recent spate of resignations from Congress, the total number of eligible votes has come down to 176.

As things stand today, this how the numbers work out: 176 divided by 4, which equals to 44, plus one. This means that the number of votes which a candidate requires to be elected to the Rajya Sabha in Gujarat sits at 45.

11:17 Meanwhile, elections are also taking place in West Bengal, where the tenure of members Derek O'Brien (TMC), Debabrata Bandhopadhyay (TMC), Pradip Bhattacharya (Cong), Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Sukhenduhakhar Roy (TMC) and Dola Sen (TMC) is set to end.

11:04 “Things have been blown out of proportion because of Ahmed Patel. He’s in a risky situation; half of his people might end up voting for the BJP,” says NCP’s Majeed Memon.

10:48 The Congress is also banking on support from the lone JD(U) MLA, Chhotu Vasava. But he gives nothing away. "I have voted for the nation," Vasava says.

10:37 A bus with 44 Congress MLAs has arrived at the state assembly in Gandhinagar. The legislators were being housed at a resort in Anand after returning from Bengaluru on Monday.

10:31 Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani earlier said that both NCP legislators will vote for the BJP candidate.

10:22 Vaghela now saying that Ahmed Patel will get support from less than 40 of the 45 MLAs required for victory.

10:18 A glimmer of hope: NCP legislator Jayant Patel says he voted for Ahmed Patel.

10:13 A reminder that the Congress needs the support of 45 legislators to secure Ahmed Patel's victory. It has 51 MLAs in the Assembly, but seven of them were not in the Bengaluru contingent.

10:07 The Congress is making a concerted effort to distance Sonia Gandhi from what is looking like a possible defeat for Ahmed Patel. Both Patel and Gujarat Congress in-charge Ashok Gehlot have said today that the Congress President should not be dragged into this election.

09:57 Some more bad news for the Congress. Senior party leader Arjun Modhwadia says that two party legislators who were part of the group that was shipped off to the Bengaluru resort have defied party orders and voted for the BJP candidate.

09:55 Personal equations could also be at play as Vaghela's granddaughter is married to BJP candidate Balvantsinh Rajput's son.

09:51 More from Vaghela: "The Congress is not winning so why should I waste my vote?"

09:47 Ahmed Patel is putting on a brave face. "We will become stronger, in fact, we will form the government this time. We have more than 44 people on our side, we will win for sure. I am contesting as a Congress member and not as Soniaji’s aide," he said.

09:39 Vaghela brushed off a question over whether he had voted for the BJP candidate or chosen the NOTA option.

09:34 Shankersinh Vaghela, who resigned as Leader of Opposition and quit the Congress a fortnight ago, says he will not vote for Ahmed Patel. This is important given that his loyalists may also follow suit.

09:23 Voting ends at 5pm. The counting will begin immediately after.

09:16 In some good news for the Congress, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said he has instructed his two Gujarat legislators to vote for Ahmed Patel.

09:12 The BJP is already the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha, albeit by a narrow margin. The party will be looking to consolidate today.

09:06 The mini exodus of sorts from the Congress had triggered political drama. The Congress had shipped off its Gujarat MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru over fears that the BJP would try and poach them. The legislators only returned to Gujarat on Monday, where they were again housed in a resort in a bid to keep the flock together.

09:04 Patel remained confident of victory, saying on Monday that the “numbers will be surprising” when the results are declared.

09:02 Voting has begun in the state Assemblies.

09:01 It is after a gap of about two decades that a contest is happening in Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, where official nominees of major parties used to get elected unopposed, after the BJP fielded a Congress rebel against Patel, who is seeking a fifth term.

08:56 Shah and Irani's victory is a foregone conclusion given the BJP has 121 MLAs in the truncated 176-member Gujarat Assembly. However, Ahmed Patel's victory is anything but certain after six Congress legislators resigned in the past fortnight.

08:53 Voting will begin at 9am in the state assemblies.

08:50 All eyes are on Gujarat, where high-profile leaders are contesting. BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani are both contesting from the state, as is Congress troubleshooter and Sonia Gandhi's political secretary.

08:30 Good morning and welcome to live coverage of the Rajya Sabha elections. Legislators from three states - Gujarat, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh - will vote today to elect 10 MPs to the Upper House of Parliament.