When is a candidate elected unopposed? | Explained

The story so far: On April 22, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party opened its tally in the Lok Sabha when its nominee for the Surat constituency in the western State of Gujarat, Mukesh Dalal, was elected unopposed. The sub-section 4 says: “On the presentation of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall satisfy himself that the names and electoral roll numbers of the candidate and his proposer as entered in the nomination paper are the same as those entered in the electoral rolls.” In the given instance, three proposers of the Congress’ candidate for Surat, Nilesh Kumbhani, claimed in an affidavit to the district election officer, Sourabh Pardhi, that they had not signed his nomination form. Such an option gives the voter the right to express his disapproval of the kind of candidates being put up by the parties.” He expressed the hope that “gradually, there will be a systemic change and the parties will be forced to accept the will of the people and field candidates who are known for their integrity.” There is a difference between an elector exercising Rule 49-O and one using the NOTA option. Through an order in November 2018, the Maharashtra State Election Commission said that NOTA would be regarded as a fictional electoral candidate for the polls to urban local bodies, and wherever NOTA gets the highest votes, the Commission would go for re-poll. But, a section of activists and constitutional experts has been critical, calling NOTA a “toothless tiger” with no implications on the results, despite the fact that NOTA was reported to have netted over 1.29 crore votes in the State Assembly elections and the Lok Sabha elections combined in the last five years.