Cong. nominee in Surat goes incommunicado
Mr. Kumbhani’s nomination papers were rejected on Sunday after his three proposers denied that they signed the papers endorsing him as a candidate. The three proposers have also been missing since April 19.
Congress moves EC
In Delhi, the party has approached the Election Commission (EC) seeking its intervention in Surat where all rival candidates opted out of the contest one by one, paving the way for BJP’s Mr. Dalal to be declared the winner without election.
In its plea to the EC, the Opposition party has asked the the poll body to use powers under Article 324 “for setting aside the order passed by the Returning Ocer cancelling Mr. Kumbhani’s nomination, directing restoration of his candidature from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency; or in the alternative, (accepting) nomination of the backup candidate for the INC, Suresh Padsala”.
However, Congress leaders and workers in Surat are fuming at the party leadership’s inability to ensure proper nomination papers or look into proposers who endorsed his nomination.
Patidar quota activist
Mr. Kumbhani had risen to fame in 2015 during the Patidar quota agitation. As a member of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) that spearheaded the State-wide agitation, he was one of the key players behind the protest, and worked along with Hardik Patel, now a BJP legislator. He had become a municipal councillor in 2015.
“He was not the right choice from the beginning. We had even told the Congress leadership that he will strike a deal and will not contest the polls,” said Dinesh Kachchadia, a local AAP leader.
The day Mr. Kumbhani’s nomination papers were rejected by the returning ocer, Mr. Kachchdia in a social media post alleged that Mr. Kumbhani had “struck a deal for 5 crore” with the BJP.
“It was a xed match from the beginning. He was never going to contest the polls,” Mr. Kachchdia told The Hindu on Tuesday.