BJP's first BIG win in LS polls 2024; Know how party won Surat seat before people voted

While the rest of the country will have to wait till June 4 to know the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, in Gujarat's Surat the BJP has opened its account after the party's candidate Mukesh Dalal won the seat unopposed.

The announcement was made by BJP's Gujarat President CR Paatil, who said on X, "Surat offered first lotus to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi !! Congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Mukeshbhai Dalal, candidate for Surat Lok Sabha seat, for being elected unopposed!!"

This is not the first time a candidate has won an election unopposed but it is certainly the first time in more than three decades that such a development has taken place. During the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, the National Conference's Mohammad Shafi Bhat won the polls from Jammu Kashmir's Srinagar before anyone even cast a single vote.

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How did BJP win the seat?

In an unusual turn of events, the saffron party claimed its first victory from PM Modi's home state after all other candidates withdrew their nominations from Surat.

Initially, Congress had fielded Nilesh Kumbhani from the Surat seat. However, his candidature was rejected by the Election Commission after his proposers claimed that they did not sign his papers.

The setback to Congress came yesterday when the District Election Officer (DEO) Sourabh Pardhi rejected Kumbhani's nomination papers claiming that three of his propers did not turn up to defend his candidature.

Meanwhile, Congress and AAP have declared that they will fight the elections in Gujarat together as part of the INDI alliance. Under their agreement, the grand old party will contest 24 of 26 seats while AAP will fight in the remaining two.

Who is Mukesh Dalal?

A new face in the BJP's list of candidates, Mukesh Dalal is BJP's Surat City general secretary and has earlier worked in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha at the state level.

Mukesh Dalal is reportedly a close ally of BJP Gujarat President CR Paatil. The BJP leader has held the post of chairman for the Surat Peoples Cooperative Bank Ltd and has been a party member since 1981.