Surat:

The nomination of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani for the Surat Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat was rejected on Sunday after the constituency election officials initially found discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers.

The nomination form of Congress replacement candidate Suresh Padsala from Surat was also invalidated, leading to the main opposition party in Gujarat withdrawing from the electoral contest in the city.

Returning Officer Sourabh Pardhi said in the order that the four nomination forms submitted by Mr Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected after prima facie there were discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers and they did not look genuine.

#watch | Surat, Gujarat: On the cancellation of candidature of Congress Party’s Surat candidate Nilesh Kumbhani, Congress leader Zameer Shaikh said, “Supporters said yesterday that they did not sign the document. Our contention is that the nomination of our candidate Nilesh Kumbhani… pic.twitter.com/BDtlHRgC0H

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2024

Mr Pardee’s order said the proposers said in their affidavits that they themselves did not sign the forms.

Confirming the development, Congress lawyer Babu Mangukiya said: “Dinesh Kumbhani and Suresh Padsala’s The nomination form has been rejected as the four nominees stated that the signatures on the form were not theirs.” Mangukia said the next step would be to file a case in the High Court and the Supreme Court.

Dinesh Jodhani, the election agent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Mukesh Dalal, objected to the nomination form on Saturday, after which the returning officer gave the The Congress candidate has time to present his case to Parliament on Sunday morning.

#watch | Surat, Gujarat: On disqualification of Congress party’s Surat candidate Nilesh Kumbhani’s candidature, says BJP leader Dinesh Jodhani , “Yesterday, we complained that there were some errors in his form… After a hearing today, his form has been cancelled.” The Collector did… pic.twitter.com/EKLyUod0Ni

— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2024

In his reply, Mr Kumbani said the proposers had signed in his presence and their signatures should be checked by a handwriting expert.

In the interest of justice, they should also be cross-examined, he said.

The election officer ordered the rejection of the nomination form after considering the affidavits and relevant evidence submitted by the proposers and establishing the identity of the proposers and ensuring that they were not threatened or pressured.

The signer’s presence was not even found in video footage examined at the request of the congressional candidate’s lawyers, the order said.

The BJP has fielded Mukesh Dalal from Surat Lok Sabha constituency.

Mr Dalal (63) is the former standing committee president of the BJP-ruled Surat Municipal Corporation and currently serves as the general secretary of the party’s Surat city unit.

In a related development, the nominations of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate for Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seat Umesh Makwana and Congress party candidate for Amreli Lok Sabha seat Jenny Thummar were accepted by their respective election officials after hearing opinions from both parties.

The BJP raised objections to the forms of both candidates, claiming that they had hidden some details in the affidavits submitted along with the forms.

Congress and AAP have joined forces to contest the Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat. The Congress has fielded candidates for 24 of the 26 seats, while the AAP is contesting from Bhavnagar and Bharuch.