The sideshow in Surat walkover to BJP: A ‘missing’ Congress candidate, dummy

SINCE THE sequence of events began with the rejection of his nomination papers, to the BJP winning the Surat Lok Sabha seat uncontested on Monday, Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani remained unavailable to his party and the media.

All calls to the 44-year-old Leuva Patel leader who rose to prominence during the Patidar reservation agitation but who had at best won a municipal election before he got the Lok Sabha ticket from the Congress went unanswered.

Originally from Amreli district, Kumbhani made his fortune in Surat, prospering in real estate and land brokerage. What got him involved in politics was his proximity to Hardik Patel, the poster boy of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) that spearheaded the reservation agitation for the community.

VIDEO | Surat District Collector gives Member of Parliament (MP) certificate to BJP's Mukesh Dalal, who was elected unopposed from Surat Lok Sabha seat after all other candidates withdrew from the fray. <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/LSPolls2024WithPTI?src=hash&ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">#LSPolls2024WithPTI

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— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) <a href=«https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/1782353242128592962?ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">April 22, 2024

Leaders of PAAS, which is now virtually disbanded, with Hardik himself in the BJP, say that Kumbhani played an active role in the protests that began in 2015, seeking quota for Patidars in government jobs and education. He is said to have helped organise the massive