Friday, May 3

“The True ‘Surat’ Of The Dictator”: Rahul Gandhi Reacts To BJP Candidate Winning Before Elections

Edited by Aishwarya Krishnan
“The True ‘Surat’ Of The Dictator”: Rahul Gandhi Reacts To BJP Candidate Winning Before Elections

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to react to the BJP’s first victory in the Lok Sabha elections, with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA candidate Mukesh Dalal winning the Surat Lok Sabha seat unopposed after the nomination of the Congress candidate was rejected. All other candidates withdrawing their nomination papers also helped Mr Dalal to secure the seat.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress leader stated, “The true face of the dictator is once again in front of the country! Taking away the right of the people to choose their leader is another step towards destroying the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar.”

Highlighting the stakes for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the Wayanad Lok Sabha candidate added, “I am saying it again – this is not just an election to form a government, this is an election to save the country, this is an election to protect the Constitution.”

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that the BJP is attempting to “match-fix” the Surat Lok Sabha seat. Notably, the saffron party has won the seat since 1989.

Following the rejection of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani for discrepancies in the verification of the signatures of three proposers, the party nominated Suresh Padsala as a substitute. However, his candidature was also rejected on similar grounds. The rest of the eight independent candidates contesting the elections from the Surat Lok Sabha seat withdrew their nomination papers, except Dalal.

Soon after, the BJP celebrated its first win in the Lok Sabha elections two weeks before the third phase of elections could take place.