Congress Candidate from Surat Accuses Party of Betrayal After 20-Day Disappearance

Nilesh Kumbhani recently broke his silence, stating that his silence had been out of respect for the state party president, Shaktisinh Gohil, and the party’s Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate, Paresh Dhanani. Kumbhani addressed the accusations of betrayal by Congress leaders, asserting that it was the Congress who first betrayed him in the 2017 assembly elections when they canceled his ticket for the Kamrej Assembly seat in Surat at the last moment. He explained that his decision to break his silence was due to the discontent among his supporters, office staff, and workers, all of whom were upset with the party’s current leadership in Surat. When asked if his actions were in retaliation to the Congress, Kumbhani did not provide a direct response.

Instead, he reiterated his claim about the cancellation of his ticket in the 2017 state polls. Kumbhani, a former Congress corporator in the Surat Municipal Corporation, contested in the 2022 assembly polls from Kamrej but lost to the BJP. Notably, the Congress’ substitute candidate, Suresh Padsala, also had his nomination form rejected, ultimately ending the party’s presence in the election. On April 22, BJP’s Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed from Surat after all other candidates, including one from the BSP, withdrew their nominations.

Due to the pre-poll alliance with Congress, the AAP did not field its candidate from Surat. Following his disappearance on April 22, Kumbhani was later suspended by the Congress, which accused him of being complicit with the BJP in the rejection of the nomination form. The Lok Sabha polls were held in a single phase in Gujarat on May 7, and the results for 25 out of the state’s 26 seats will be declared on June 4. *(The article has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.

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