Surat: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received excellent news from Gujarat during the Lok Sabha elections, when its victory in the Surat Lok Sabha seat was confirmed without a challenge. This was a significant achievement. This occurred following the cancellation of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination for lack of proposers. The eight other contenders then withdrew their nominations as well, making it possible for Mukesh Dalal of the BJP to win the seat without a challenge.
Nilesh Kumbhani, a candidate for Congress, reportedly had his candidacy revoked because he neglected to appear before the returning officer with any of his three proposers. Kumbhani's nomination was revoked after the BJP questioned the proposers' signatures. He was then asked to submit the proposers before the election officer, but he was unable to do so. Congress retaliated by claiming that the government was threatening people and that its supporters were being held captive. The proposers, however, asserted that they did not accompany the Congress candidate and that their signatures were not on Kumbhani's form.
The brother-in-law, nephew, and partner of Kumbhani, who were his proposers, were seen on camera protesting that their signatures were missing from the nomination form. Kumbhani was allowed one day to reply, but he did not bring his arguments in front of the returning officer. Since 1989, the BJP has held the Surat Lok Sabha constituency, which former Prime Minister Morarji Desai once represented five times.
