Gandhinagar: By-election for Morva Hadaf assembly seat of Gujarat will take place next month. The Election Commission of India has today released the schedule of by-polls for various assembly and Lok Sabha seats across the country among which Morva Hadaf seat is also mentioned. Morva Hadaf is located in Central Gujarat. It is a reserved seat for Schedule Tribe (ST) candidates.

As per the Election Commission, Gazette notification for by-poll will be issued on 23 March. Last date of nominations shall be 30th March. Date of scrutiny of nominations is 31 March. Last date of withdrawal of candidatures is 3rd April. Polling will take place on 17th April. Date of counting shall be 2nd May. Date before which election shall be completed is 4th May.

Background of vacant seat:

Morva Hadaf seat was won by an independent candidate Bhupendra Khant in year 2017 general elections of Gujarat Assembly. In May 2019, Gujarat Assembly speaker Rajendra Trivedi announced Khant’s disqualification , saying the decision was taken according to directions of then governor O P Kohli, after the Election Commission of India accepted that Khant had forged documents following Gujarat high court case, and informed then governor of Gujarat, to process his disqualification.

As Morva Hadaf seat is reserved for Schedule Tribe(ST), only a tribal person can contest and get elected from this seat. However it was later found that Khant was not tribal. His caste certificate was cancelled after due process by Tribal Development Commissioner in January 2018. Khant had taken up this matter to court. However Scrutiny Committee of the State government had in February 2018 again invalidated Khant’s caste certificate.

Khant, son of an OBC father V K Khant and ST mother and former Congress MLA from the same seat, late Savita Khant who died of a cardiac arrest soon after her victory in 2012, had filed a petition in the court challenging the scrutiny committee order.

Khant, who had contested the seat as an independent revolting with his party Congress and emerged victorious had later announced his support to the party. Congress had given the seat to its ally Bharatiya Tribal Party led by Chhotu Vasava. Later a complaint challenging his caste certificate was filed before the administration for the examination of which the committee was constituted.

Khant had maintained that there was nothing wrong with his caste certificate but he was being targeted owing to political reasons. As per law the son of a non-tribal father and tribal mother was entitled to be treated as ST.

Interestingly Congress had expelled him owing to his candidature as independent but the party apparently put the red carpet before him following his victory. He had also met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Ahmedabad. BTP candidate Kalpesh Damor who lost against him as Congress supported candidate was also said to be instrumental in raking up his caste certificate issue.

Poll Events

Date and Day

Date of Issue of Gazette Notification

23.03.2021 (Tuesday)

Last Date of Nominations

30.03.2021 (Tuesday)

Date for Scrutiny of Nominations

31.03.2021  (Wednesday)

Last Date for Withdrawal of candidatures

03.04.2021 (Saturday)

Date of Poll

17.04.2021  (Saturday)

Date of Counting

02.05.2021 (Sunday)

Date before which election shall be completed

04.05.2021 (Tuesday)