‘Missing’ to withdrawal to ‘abduction’: Before elections, a showdown in Surat

“I have voluntarily withdrawn my candidature form due to internal conflicts with party leaders and workers,” Jariwala told reporters later.

AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a Twitter post on Jariwala, said, “He is being forced by the police and goondas to withdraw his nomination. India has not seen such goondaism. What is the meaning of elections? It’s the end of democracy.”

Earlier, Kejriwal said Jariwala and his family had been “missing” since Tuesday. “First, BJP tried to get his nomination rejected. But his nomination was accepted. Later, he was being pressurised to withdraw his nomination. Has he been kidnapped?” he said on Twitter.

The BJP rejected the AAP allegations as “baseless”. Surat city BJP president Niranjan Janjmera told a press conference: “We have nothing to do with these allegations. On the contrary, if he (Jariwala) had remained a candidate, we would have definitely benefitted. We have also seen the statements of Jariwala on news channels in which he says he had voluntarily withdrawn his form and there was no pressure from anybody on him.”

“We condemn the dirty politics played by AAP leaders. They want to take political advantage of the incident. Jariwala has not been with BJP, and he has no relation with BJP leaders,” Janjmera said.

The AAP alleged that the BJP made “all attempts” to get Jariwala’s nomination rejected. On Tuesday afternoon, Jariwala reached the local election office with his supporters. The Congress candidate from Surat (East), Aslam Cyclewala, and BJP candidate Arvind Rana were also present there along with their supporters.

The BJP workers, the AAP said, put pressure on the returning officer to reject Jariwala’s nomination form on various grounds. By evening, Jariwala’s nomination form was accepted.

Thereafter, Jariwala, according to AAP, was “missing” from his home and business place. AAP workers found the premises locked. His mobile phone and those of his family members were switched off. The local AAP unit then informed their leadership about the development.

Jariwala contested the 2021 Surat civic body election from Gopipura ward as a Congress nominee but lost to the BJP candidate. He later joined AAP.

On Wednesday, AAP leader Raghav Chadha filed a complaint with the returning officer, demanding a “free and fair investigation” into the incident.

The returning officer, R B Gogayat, who is Surat’s Deputy Collector, was not available for comment.

In New Delhi, an AAP delegation led by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia protested, and met the Election Commission.

A spokesperson for the EC said the Commission received the AAP delegation’s representation about the party’s candidate from Surat East being allegedly coerced to withdraw his candidature and being taken to an undisclosed location.

The representation, the spokesperson said, was sent to the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer to inquire and take whatever action was warranted.

“A group of AAP members/supporters, reportedly led by Manish Sisodia, Dy CM, Delhi, gathered at ECI main gate from 12 noon onwards and started raising slogans. This is unfortunate, as AAP, a registered and recognised political party, unexpectedly chose to deliberately create an incident, when no protest was warranted. No advance intimation for the gathering was given to the ECI or local administration,” the spokesperson said.