Shyam Rangeela, a comedian and politician based out of Rajasthan, filed his nomination from Varanasi as an Independent candidate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI), on Wednesday, May 16, rejected his affidavit “on the ground that he did not take the oath”. In a video released by Shyam, he alleged that the district magistrate refused to accept his nomination papers and threw the papers out.
Shyam Rangeela had filed his nomination as an Independent candidate from Varanasi. According to the poll panel's website, out of 55 candidates, the forms of 36 nominees were rejected while the affidavits of 15 candidates, including PM Modi and Congress' Ajay Rai, were accepted.
Rangeela told reporters that despite his efforts to file his nomination since May 10, he was denied access to the district magistrate's office on the day Prime Minister Modi submitted his nomination papers. Once a follower of PM Modi, Rangeela had earlier said the situation had changed in the last 10 years which is why he decided to contest elections from Varanasi.
"In 2014, I was a follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I shared many videos supporting the Prime Minister. Videos were also shared against Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal. Seeing them, one could say that I will vote only for the Bharatiya Janata Party for the next 70 years. But the situation has changed in the last 10 years. I will now contest against the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha polls as an Independent candidate," he had announced.
He added, "My candidature will give the people of Varanasi an option while voting, unlike in Surat and Indore. So, I will go to Varanasi this week and file my nomination against Prime Minister Narendra Modi." On April 25, Rangeela asked his followers on social media whether he should file the nomination as an Independent candidate from Varanasi.
Rangeela gained fame for mimicking PM Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on a comedy show in 2017. Varanasi will go to the polls in the seventh and final phase on June 1.
(With IANS inputs)