AHMEDABAD: The candidature of Congress candidate from Surat Lok Sabha constituency Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected on Sunday after his three supporters who signed the nomination form complained to the district returning officer that their signatures were fake.
The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress’ substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated, pushing Gujarat’s principal opposition party out of the poll fray in the constituency.
In his order, returning officer Sourabh Pardhi said the four nomination forms submitted by Kumbhani and Padsala were rejected after prima facie discrepancies were found in the signatures of the proposers, and they did not appear genuine. “The proposers, in their affidavits, stated that they had not signed the forms themselves,” Pardhi’s order said.
Confirming the development, Congress’ lawyer Babu Mangukiya said the next course of action will be to approach the High Court and Supreme Court. Dinesh Jodhani, the election agent of BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal, had objected to the nomination forms on Saturday, after which the returning officer granted time to the Congress candidate to appear before it to present his case.