Nilesh Kumbhani, the Congress leader whose Lok Sabha candidacy from Surat was cancelled owing to purported inconsistencies in his nomination form, was untraceable on Monday, as per local media reports. This comes a day after BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal won the Lok Sabha election unopposed from Surat following the cancellation of Kumbhani's candidacy and the withdrawal of other candidates from the fray.
Speculations are rife that Kumbhani may switch affiliation to the BJP. "Kumbhani is neither at his home, nor is he taking calls. He also didn't contact any party workers since the election of Mukesh Dalal," a Congress worker was quoted as saying by news agency IANS. After hearsay spread suggesting Kumbhani may join the country's ruling BJP, several Congress supporters staged a demonstration outside his residence with posters labelling him a "betrayer of the people".
Kumbhani's nomination, as well as that of his substitute Congress candidate, for the ongoing Lok Sabha election, was rejected by the Returning Officer (RO), Surat Collector Sourabh Pardhi, over alleged discrepancies in the signatures of their proposers. The candidatures were dismissed under Section 36(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which permits the RO to examine and reject nominations based on valid objections.
The situation escalated after eight other candidates, including Pyarelal Bharati of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), withdrew their nominations under unclear circumstances, leaving Dalal as the lone contender. The series of withdrawals prompted allegations of foul play, with Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil claiming that Kumbhani's nomination was sabotaged by the BJP as he described the incident as a "murder of democracy".
(With inputs from agencies)