Gandhinagar: A total of 265 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha general elections on 25 out of 26 parliamentary constituencies in Gujarat.

According to details announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a total of 433 candidates had filled the nomination forms for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat during the candidacy stage of the election. During the form verification process last Saturday, the ECI recognized 328 out of 433 candidates to contest the elections. Later, by 3 PM on Monday, 63 of these approved candidates had withdrawn their candidatures, leaving 266 candidates in the fray for polling on May 7th. However, on the Surat Lok Sabha seat, BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed after the nomination of the Congress candidate was rejected, and all other candidates withdrew their nominations.

Among these 265 candidates, there are 246 male and 19 female candidates. The ECI will deploy 2 ballot units in the Ahmedabad West Lok Sabha seat as it will witness a fight between the maximum number of candidates, which is 18. Meanwhile, the Bardoli Constituency will only see a contest between three candidates.

It’s notable that on Monday, the last day for the withdrawal of candidature, there were 11 constituencies where no nomination forms were withdrawn. These constituencies are Kutch, Mehsana, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Amreli, Kheda, Anand, Dahod, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Bardoli, and Valsad.

Simultaneously, by-elections for five Assembly seats will also be held, for which a total of 37 people had filed nomination forms. After scrutiny, 27 candidates were approved to fight the polls, and now, after the withdrawal of the forms, a total of 24 candidates are in the election race for the five assembly seats. DeshGujarat