Congress Betrayed Me: ‘Missing’ Surat Candidate Reappears After 20 Days

Nilesh Kumbhani recently broke his silence to reporters, explaining the reason for his previous reticence. He stated that his respect for the state party president, Shaktisinh Gohil, and the party’s Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate, Paresh Dhanani, had kept him from speaking out earlier. Kumbhani expressed frustration towards the Congress, citing the cancellation of his ticket for the Kamrej Assembly seat in the 2017 assembly elections as the root cause of his disillusionment with the party.

He also mentioned his dissatisfaction with the leadership in Surat, claiming that the party was being controlled by five self-proclaimed leaders who obstructed effective governance. When asked if his recent actions were a form of retaliation against the Congress, Kumbhani declined to give a direct answer, choosing instead to emphasize the cancellation of his ticket in the 2017 state polls. Kumbhani had contested in the 2022 assembly polls from Kamrej, but was unsuccessful, losing to the BJP candidate.

He also noted that the Congress’ substitute candidate, Suresh Padsala, had their nomination form rejected, effectively ending the party’s involvement in the race. Following these events, BJP’s Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed from Surat on April 22, as all other candidates, including one from the BSP, withdrew their nominations. Acknowledging the pre-poll alliance with Congress, the AAP did not field a candidate from Surat.

Kumbhani, who had been incommunicado since April 22, was subsequently suspended by the Congress, which accused him of connivance with the BJP and blamed him for the rejection of the nomination form. The Lok Sabha polls were conducted in a single phase in Gujarat on May 7, with the results for 25 out of the state’s 26 seats set to be announced on June 4. *(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.

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