Mukesh Dalal of BJP has emerged as the first unopposed victor in Lok Sabha elections within the last decade, likely being the first for the party to win a parliamentary election without contest. This marks the party’s first victory in the ongoing seven-phase elections. Congress had positioned Nilesh Kumbhani for the Surat Lok Sabha seat. His candidacy was annulled a day prior due to discrepancies found in proposers’ signatures by the District Returning Officer.
All other candidates withdrew their nominations for the Surat seat on Monday, which led to BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal being deemed the unopposed winner. In the recent Assembly elections in Arunachal Pradesh, 10 BJP candidates won without opposition. Since the first Lok Sabha elections in 1951 until today, 35 candidates including Mukesh Dalal have secured parliamentary elections without facing any competition. Dimple Yadav of the Samajwadi Party won the Kannauj Lok Sabha by-election unopposed in 2012.
Most Unopposed Election Victors from the Congress
The Kannauj seat became vacant following her husband Akhilesh Yadav’s ascent as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Other notable politicians who have won parliamentary elections uncontested include YB Chavan, Farooq Abdullah, Hare Krishna Mehtab, TT Krishnamachari, PM Sayeed, and SC Jamir. The Congress party has the majority of such unopposed candidates reaching Lok Sabha, with two instances each in the Sikkim and Srinagar election districts.
While most candidates win elections without contest in general or routine elections, at least nine, including Dimple Yadav, have secured by-elections uncontested. The maximum of 7 candidates won uncontested in the 1957 general elections. Meanwhile, in the 1951 and 1967 elections, 5 candidates each won without contest, with 3 in 1962 and 2 in 1977. Similarly, the elections in 1971, 1980, and 1989 each saw one candidate winning uncontested.
'BJP Aiming to Dismantle the Constitution': Rahul Gandhi
On Mukesh Dalal's uncontested election as an MP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused BJP of endangering democracy. In a post from his X (formerly Twitter) handle, he wrote, 'The true face of a dictator is once again before the nation. Usurping the people's right to choose their leader is another step towards dismantlcommissiongeeper,'s Constitution. Let me reiterate - this election isn't just about forming the government, it's about saving the nation, defending the Constitution.'
'Congress Denied Candidate Nomination in Surat'
Congress claims BJP was intimidated by the anger of MSME owners and the business community. Hence, it 'fixed' the Surat Lok Sabha seat. Surat has not seen BJP losing a Lok Sabha election since 1984. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh expressed his astonishment over Surat's outcome, claiming that democracy is in peril. On X, he wrote, 'Understand the chronology: the Surat District Election Officer annulled the nomination of Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani for the Surat Lok Sabha seat, due to errors found in the verification of three proposers’ signatures. Election officials cited similar discrepancies in signatures of proposers as the reason behind rejecting Congress’s alternative candidate Suresh Padsala’s nomination. In Surat, Congress was not even allowed to field a candidate.'
Ramesh added, 'All candidates other than BJP's Mukesh Dalal withdrew their nominations. Voting was scheduled for May 7 in the Surat seat. The BJP candidate was declared elected unopposed nearly two weeks before the poll. During PM Narendra Modi's term, the MSME owners and the business community face a crisis. Their anger has frightened BJP to the extent that it had to fix even that Surat seat where they haven't lost since 1984.'
