• Source:PTI
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Suspended Congress leader Nilesh Kumbhani, whose nomination form was rejected over discrepancies, helped the BJP in sweeping the Surat Lok Sabha constituency unopposed. Kumbhani reappeared after 20 days and alleged that it was the grand old party that had initially betrayed him in 2017. The suspended Congress leader attributed his silence to his regard for state party president Shaktisinh Gohil and the party’s Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate Paresh Dhanani.

"Congress leaders are accusing me of betrayal. However, it was the Congress which betrayed me first in the 2017 assembly elections when my ticket for the Kamrej Assembly seat in Surat was cancelled at the last moment. It was the Congress which made the first mistake, not me," Kumbhani told reporters, as quoted by news agency PTI.

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"I did not want to do this but my supporters, office staff and workers were upset because the party is being run by five self-proclaimed leaders in Surat and they neither work nor allow others to work. Though AAP and Congress are part of the INDIA alliance, these leaders raised objections when I used to campaign with AAP leaders here," he further claimed. 

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When asked if the recent developments in the ongoing Lok Sabha Election 2024 were motivated by a desire for retribution against the Congress, Kumbhani declined to respond directly. Instead, he reiterated his complaint regarding cancellation of his ticket during the 2017 state polls. 

Kumbhani had gone incommunicado since April 22 and the Congress subsequently suspended him, accusing him of "connivance with the BJP" and for rejecting the nomination form. The Lok Sabha elections were held in Gujarat on May 7 and the results for 25 out of the 26 seats will be declared on June 4.