How Surat was won: BJP member says attested affidavits disowning Congress form signatures

The affidavits in which three proposers of Surat Lok Sabha Congress nominee Nilesh Kumbhani and another of the party’s dummy candidates Suresh Padsala disowned the signatures on the nomination papers were notarised (attested) by a member of the Surat City BJP legal cell.

On Monday, following the rejection of the Congress nomination Sunday and the withdrawal of eight others including the BSP nominee, BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared as elected unopposed from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency.

Kiran Ghoghari, member of the Surat City BJP legal cell, told The Indian Express Tuesday that the proposers came to the Collector’s office when he was sitting there “after having finished the formalities for the BJP on April 20 and I extended help to them as a professional, and notarised their affidavits disowning the signatures on Kumbhani and Padsala’s nomination forms”.

Ghoghari said he took a fee of Rs 2,500 for each affidavit though his regular fee is Rs 500.

Kumbhani, the Congress candidate, had submitted signatures of his brother-in-law Jagdish Savaliya, nephew Dhruvin Dhamelia and business partner Ramesh Polra as his proposers when he filed his nomination on April 18.

The BJP candidate’s agent Dinesh Jodhani raised an objection before the election officer over the signatures of the three proposers of Kumbhani and proposer Bhautik Koladiya of Padsala, saying the signatures had been forged.

Saurabh Parghi, District Election Officer and Collector of Surat, held a special hearing Sunday on Kumbhani and Padsala’s nomination papers. He upheld the BJP’s objection and rejected the Congress nomination.

The proposers who, according to a complaint by Kumbhani were missing Sunday when his case was being heard, appeared before the Surat