There is an election atmosphere in four states and one union territory of the country. During this, public representatives filed nominations from their respective areas. Usually, a candidate contests elections from one party and also files nomination papers from the same party. But if the same candidate files nomination from three different parties, it may sound strange. Bharat Singh Wakhala has presented his claim as the official candidate of BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the Pipero seat of Dahod District Panchayat of Gujarat.
Pipero seat is traditionally considered the stronghold of senior leader Bachubhai Khabar. Vakhala had contested the last assembly elections on AAP ticket and had given a tough challenge to BJP. They have a long history of changing allegiance towards political parties. He had recently joined AAP from Congress, but was later seen 'surrendering' to the BJP camp.
Scrutiny of 11 nomination forms filed for Pipero seat has revealed a strange administrative puzzle, 5 forms from BJP (including Wakhla), 2 forms from Congress (including Wakhla), 1 form from AAP (Wakhla), 2 from Independent and 1 from BRP party. This is the first time that all three big political organizations have technically made the same person their potential candidate.
Wakhala has submitted forms for all three parties, but the legal validity of his candidature depends on the party's official mandate. According to election rules, a candidate is considered the official candidate of the party only if the party issues a special authorization letter before the deadline.
A local election official said that the situation will be clear only on 15th, which is the last day for withdrawal of nominations and submission of mandate. At that time it will be known which party's 'Form B' he submits and which nomination papers are withdrawn or cancelled.
