Chauhan was leading in the first two rounds by over 30,000 votes. But gradually the margin decreased and Patel won by 846 votes

Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Kheda Lok Sabha constituency, Devusinh Chauhan, has withdrawn his petition from the Gujarat High Court (HC) against the electoral officer and others for not ordering recounting of votes despite repeated attempts.

Chauhan has done so with a liberty to file a fresh election petition in the

High Court. Chauhan, also the Matar BJP legislator, had moved the Gujarat HC after losing by a margin of 846 votes against Congress candidate Dinsha Patel. Patel is now the Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises with independent charge in the Union Cabinet.

On the day of counting of the votes, a close contest was witnessed between the two leaders, though the BJP leader was ahead for most part of the day. Chauhan, an engineer, who belongs to the Kshatriya community, was leading in the first two rounds by over 30,000 votes. But gradually the margin decreased and Patel won the poll by 846 votes.

In his petition in the High Court, Chauhan had made the Election Commission of India, Chief Electoral Officer and District Returning Officer as respondents.

On Monday, Chauhan’s lawyer Chitrajit Upadhyay sought to withdraw the petition in the court of Justice K S Zaveri with a liberty to file a fresh election petition. His request to withdraw the petition has been granted by the court.

Upadhyay told Newsline: “Earlier, the Collector did not pass an order on Chauhan’s application demanding recounting in the election. So, we approached the High Court. But by Monday, the Collector had passed an order on the application and rejected it. So, our prayer in the petition does not stand and so it has been withdrawn with an option to file a fresh election petition.”