BJP wins first Lok Sabha seat even before voting: Here's what happened in Surat

Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil with Mukesh Dalal (R) | Courtesy: Twitter

In a rare victory even before a single vote was cast, BJP's Surat candidate Mukesh Dalal on Monday won the Gujarat constituency unopposed after all his rivals withdrew their nomination. Voting was originally scheduled to take place in Surat in the third phase on May 7.

This marks the first official victory for BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"I declare that Mukeshkumar Chandrakant Dalal, sponsored by the BJP, has been duly elected to fill the seat in the House from Surat parliamentary constituency," district collector cum election officer Saurabh Pardhi told media persons as he handed over the Certificate of Election to Dalal.

What happened in Surat?

In almost every constituency, the main parties field their candidates while several Independents as well as local candidates are also in the fray.

In Surat's case, the Congress - which is the main challenger to BJP - was out of the contest on Sunday itself since the candidature of Nilesh Kumbhani was rejected.

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The district returning officer prima facie found discrepancies in the signature of Kumbhani's proposers.

The nomination form of Suresh Padsala, the Congress's substitute candidate from Surat, was also invalidated, pushing Gujarat's principal opposition party out of the poll fray in the city.

Separately, the other 8 candidates in the fray were 4 Independents, 3 from smaller parties and Pyarelal Bharti of Bahujan Samaj Party. Interestingly, all of them withdrew their nomination papers on the last day.

Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday alleged that Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected at the behest of the BJP and said it would challenge the rejection in the high court.

"Surat has presented the first Lotus to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I congratulate our candidate for Surat Lok Sabha seat Mukesh Dalal for getting elected unopposed," Gujarat unit BJP president C R Paatil posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Gujarat sends 26 members to the lower house. In the last two general election, BJP swept the state and won all 26 seats.

Rare occurence, but it has happened in the past

Notably, Dalal will not be the first lawmaker to be elected to Lok Sabha unopposed.

According to a report in The Indian Express, several lawmakers have been elected to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies without any contest.

At 4, J&K has seen the most such number of MPs being elected.

Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav was the most recent example of a leader getting elected unopposed when she won the 2012 bypoll from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the Indian Express, other prominent MPs who have been elected unopposed include former Maharashtra CM Y B Chavan, former J&K CM and NC chief Farooq Abdullah, former Nagaland CM and ex-Governor of four states S C Jamir, Odisha’s first CM Harekrushna Mahatab from Angul, former member of the Constituent Assembly TT Krishnamachari from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchendur; and former Union ministers PM Sayeed from Lakshadweep and K L Rao from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.