Mukesh Dalal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Surat, Gujarat, secured a victory without contest as the Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination was rejected due to discrepancies in the signatures of the proposers. Following this, all other candidates withdrew from the race, leaving Dalal as the only contender and paving the way for his unopposed election.
Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil publicly praised Mukesh Dalal's unopposed victory, calling it a significant moment for the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also lauded Dalal's win, foreseeing a historic triumph for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and highlighting the party's ambitions for success in all 26 seats in Gujarat.
The rejection of Nilesh Kumbhani's candidature was based on the identification of fake signatures on his nomination form, while the substitute candidate Suresh Padsala from the Congress party also faced invalidation of his nomination. The BJP sees Dalal's unopposed election as a positive indicator of their electoral prospects, with the looming Lok Sabha polls set to take place on May 7, encompassing all 26 constituencies in Gujarat in a single phase.