Gandhinagar, Apr 23:
A total of 62 candidates withdrew their nominations on Monday, the last day of withdrawal of nominations for the Lok Sabha elections to be held simultaneously on May 7 in all the 26 seats in Gujarat.
Now 266 candidates remain in the race.
Joint Chief Electoral Officer AB Patel said that due to the cancellation of nomination papers of the Congress candidate for the Surat Lok Sabha seat and the withdrawal of nomination papers by eight other candidates, the BJP nominee Mukesh Dalal has been declared winner.
As per the final list on Monday, after the withdrawal of nominations by a total of 62 candidates and scrutiny, there will now be a total of 266 candidates for the Lok Sabha general election and 24 candidates for the Assembly by-election.
The maximum of 18 candidates are in fray in Ahmedabad (East) Lok Sabha seat. Only three candidates are locking horns in the Bardoli seat.
Voting will be held on May 7 for by-elections for all Lok Sabha seats and five assembly seats in the state.
Counting of votes will be completed on June 4, and the election process will be completed on June 6.
