AHMEDABAD: Congress
suspended
Friday its disqualified Surat
LS candidate
Nilesh Kumbhani for six years, accusing him of “negligence or
collusion
with BJP” even as he stayed “incommunicado” and released a video pledging allegiance to the party.
Kumbhani’s nomination was rejected on April 22 after his three proposers claimed their signatures were not theirs.
The nomination of Suresh Padsala, his substitute candidate, was also invalidated on the same grounds. The rejections paved the way for BJP’s Mukesh Dalal to be declared the uncontested winner.
Kumbhani has not been seen since the rejections. A Gujarat Pradesh
Congress
Committee (GPCC) disciplinary panel reached the conclusion about the rejection of Kumbhani’s nomination “due to negligence or collusion with BJP”. “Despite being asked to appear before the committee to explain, Kumbhani chose not to and has gone incommunicado,” a GPCC release on his suspension stated.
According to the suspension order, “BJP used unfair means to get other candidates to withdraw their nominations after Kumbhani’s form was rejected”. “You (Kumbhani) have deprived the people of Surat from casting their vote, which is their right,” the GPCC order added.
Kumbhani released the video within hours of his suspension, claiming he did not get support from local Congress netas for campaigning while pledging loyalty.
With Kumbhani’s current location unknown, speculation was rife that he would join BJP.