The Bharatiya Janata Party has got its first Lok Sabha MP from Surat as party candidate Mukesh Dalal won the election unopposed. Eight opposing candidates withdrew their nomination papers and Congress candidates’ nominations were rejected, paving the way for Dalal’s victory.
"Surat has presented the first Lotus to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I congratulate our candidate for Surat Lok Sabha seat Mukesh Dalal for getting elected unopposed," BJP Gujarat President C.R. Paatil posted on X. As many as eight candidates, mostly independents and Pyarelal Bharti of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), withdrew their papers on Monday, the last day for withdrawing their nominations.
Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi told Hindustan Times said they would soon announce Dalal’s win in the election. “As all the eight candidates who had successfully filed their nomination for the Surat Lok Sabha seat have withdrawn their candidature, Dalal has been elected unopposed. We will soon announce his win,” he said.
On Sunday, the nomination forms of Congress' Surat Lok Sabha candidate Nilesh Kumbhani were rejected after his three proposers had submitted affidavits to the district returning officer claiming the signatures on them were not theirs. The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress's substitute candidate from Surat was also invalidated. Pardhi said their nomination forms were rejected after prima facie discrepancy was found in the signatures of the proposers and they did not appear to be genuine.
-with inputs from agencies.