Congress LS candidate’s nomination rejected: Why?

The festival of democracy is in full swing in India. In such a situation, there is some good news from some places and some disturbing news from others. In such a situation, a news has come for the Congress candidate from Surat Lok Sabha in Gujarat.

The nomination paper of Nilesh Kumbhani, Congress’ candidate for the Surat Lok Sabha seat, was rejected on Sunday after his three proposers claimed that the signatures on the papers were forged. Likewise, the nomination form of Suresh Padsala, Congress’ alternate candidate from Surat, was also invalidated, effectively eliminating the main opposition party from the city’s electoral contest.

What is the role of a proposer according to election rules?

As per the election nomination regulations, if a candidate is contesting as a nominee of a recognised political party, one voter from the constituency is required to propose their candidacy. However, if the candidate is contesting as an independent candidate or as a candidate nominated by a registered but unrecognised political party, then ten electors from the constituency must sign the nomination paper as proposers.

According to the rules, the Returning Officer (RO) must verify the signatures of the proposers. If, after a brief inquiry, the RO determines that the signature is not genuine, as claimed by the proposer, the nomination paper will be rejected due to insufficient proposers. Additionally, the individual who submitted the nomination paper with a forged signature or thumb impression will be subject to prosecution under the law.

However, the candidate in question should be afforded sufficient opportunity to present their case, the rules say.

Will go to high court, Supreme Court: Congress

Confirming it, Congress’ legal representative Babu Mangukiya said, “Nomination forms of Dinesh Kumbhani and Suresh Padsala have been rejected after the four proposers said signatures on the forms were not theirs.” Mangukiya added that the next step would be to seek legal recourse through the high court and Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Zameer Shaikh suggested that the proposers were threatened to back out. He said “The supporters said yesterday that they had not signed the papers. Our argument is that the nomination of our candidate Nilesh Kumbhani has been cancelled without verifying why the supporters were lying and under which threat they were… The high command will decide on an option,” ANI reported.inputsHT

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