The BJP has opened its account in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The party's candidate from Gujarat's Surat constituency, Mukesh Dalal, has won the polls as all his opponents are now out of the fray.
While the Congress candidate's form was rejected by the Returning Officer, the other eight candidates for the seat withdrew their nominations.
Nilesh Kumbhani, the Congress candidate from Surat Lok Sabha seat, was unable to present even one of his three proposers before the election officer, after which his nomination form was cancelled.
The BJP had raised questions about the discrepancies in the signatures of three proposers in Kumbhani's nomination form.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress' substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated, pushing Gujarat's principal opposition party out of the poll fray in the city.
In his order, Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi said the four nomination forms submitted by Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected because at first sight, discrepancies were found in the signatures of the proposers, and they did not appear genuine.
Also, the proposers stated in their affidavits that they did sign the forms themselves, Pardhi's order stated. Incidentally, Kumbhani's three proposers were his relatives.
After the claim of the proposers, the Returning Officer had given one day's time to Nilesh Kumbhani to file his response. The Congress candidate came to the election officer with his advocate, but none of his three proposers turned up.
