Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Surat’ wordplay after BJP wins Lok Sabha seat unopposed

Shortly after the BJP candidate was elected unopposed from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the “true face of the dictator” is once again in front of the country.
BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed from Surat after all other candidates in the fray from Surat- 4 Independents, 3 from smaller parties and Pyarelal Bharti of Bahujan Samaj Party- withdrew their nomination papers on the last day.
The nominations of two Congress candidates were cancelled on Sunday, leaving the main opposition party in Gujarat out of the race.
The first setback came in the form of the cancellation of Nilesh Kumbhani’s candidature for the Lok Sabha seat after the district returning officer prima facie found discrepancies in the signature of the proposers. Suresh Padsala, Congress’s substitute candidate, also had his nomination form rejected on Sunday.
“Tanashah ki asli ‘Surat’ ek baar phir desh ke saame hai! (The true face of the dictator is once again in front of the country!)” Gandhi said in a post on X.
“Taking away the right of the people to choose their leader is another step towards destroying the Constitution of Baba Saheb Ambedkar,” he added, asserting that the ongoing Lok Sabha elections are not just to form a government but an election to “save the country” and to “protect the Constitution.”
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the BJP is trying to “match-fix” the Surat Lok Sabha polls, which he said they have won consistently since 1984 Lok Sabha elections.
In a tweet on X, Jairam Ramesh said, “distress and anger faced by MSME owners and businesspeople in Modi’s Anyay Kaal” has spooked the BJP so badly that they are attempting to “match-fix” Surat Lok Sabha, which they have won consistently since 1984 Lok Sabha elections!”
“Our elections, our democracy, Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution – all are under a generational threat. This is the most important election of our lifetime!,” Ramesh posted.