Mukesh Dalal is set to be elected unopposed- from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency as all of his opponents are now out of the fray, with eight candidates pulling out, and the nomination of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani being rejected.
Gujarat Lok Sabha Election 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opened its account in the Lok Sabha Elections as its Surat candidate, Mukesh Dalal, was elected unopposed even before polls were held for the constituency.
Lok Sabha Election 2024: BJP’s 1st Winner in Gujarat
While there has been no official confirmation, Dalal is set to be elected unopposed- from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency as all of his opponents are now out of the fray, with eight candidates pulling out, and the nomination of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani being rejected on technical grounds, leaving the BJP leader as the only nominee from the seat.
BJP’s Gujarat unit chief C R Paatil congratulated Mukesh Dalal on his victory, asserting that Surat has offered the first victory to PM Narendra Modi.
“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,” Paatil wrote on X.
On the last day of withdrawal of the nomination forms on Monday, as many as 8 candidates, mostly Independents and Pyarelal Bharti of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), withdrew their papers.
Notably, the candidature of Congress’ Nilesh Kumbhani from Surat seat was rejected on Sunday after the district returning officer prima facie found discrepancies in the signature of the proposers.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress’ substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated.
Reacting to the development, Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil alleged that the nominations of the party’s candidates were rejected at the BJP’s behest.
Addressing a presser, Gohil termed election of Dalal as the “murder of democracy”, adding that the Congress will challenge the decision in the court. The state Congress chief claimed that it was part of a “conspiracy” to cancel the nominations of the opposition party’s candidates by any means possible.
Who is Mukesh Dalal, Elected Unopposed From Surat LS Seat?
Mukesh Dalal, who has been elected unopposed from the Surat Lok Sabha seat, is the general secretary of the local BJP unit in Surat. Dalal belongs to the influential Modh merchant community, and is considered a close-aide of state BJP chief CR Paatil.
A former Standing Committee Chairman of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), Mukesh Dalal is at present a member of the SDCA committee.
Earlier, Dalal had been proactive member of the BJP Yuva Morcha– the party’s youth wing, in Gujarat. A three-time SMC councillor and five-time standing committee chairman, Mukesh Dalal has risen from grass-root level politics, having being associated with the BJP since 1981.
After completing his Bachelors Degree in commerce, Dalal completed his LLB and, later an MBA in Finance. He is also a former chairman of the Surat People’s Cooperative Bank Limited.
Source link
