Not allowed to file nomination from Varanasi, claims comedian Shyam Rangeela
Rangeela has made several posts on X to claim that he was asked by the administration for various things against the rules of the Election Commission
Comedian Shyam Rangeela, known for mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has claimed that he was not allowed to file his nomination papers from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, from where Modi is eyeing a third straight term.
Rangeela, 29, has claimed that he tried to file his nomination papers since Friday (May 10), but failed. He has made several posts on social media platform X to claim that he was asked for various things against the rules of the Election Commission.
Rangeela’s claims
On May 10, he wrote that he was asked for “the copy of Aadhar card (with signature) of ten proposers and their phone numbers” to get the challan for the nomination form.
On May 13, he further claimed that “There were proposers, the form was also filled, but no one was ready to accept it”, adding that he would try again the next day.
On Tuesday, however, Rangeela claimed he was not allowed to enter the district magistrate’s office. It was the final day for filing the papers, a day on which Modi also filed his papers from the seat.
“They can reject my papers. But at least, take the documents,” Rangeela said in a video post.
15 contestants in Varanasi
Varanasi is going to polls in the final phase of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections on June 1. Modi won the seat by around 4.8 lakh votes in 2019 and 3.7 lakh votes in 2014.
Fourteen others have filed their nomination for the Varanasi seat, including the Congress’s Ajai Rai and BSP’s Athar Ali Lari.
Reacting to Rangeela’s claims, Congress leader Surendra Rajput told the media, “Everyone is free to file a nomination, including PM Modi. However, other people are not being allowed to file their nominations from the constituency. A YouTuber named (Shyam) Rangeela, who wished to file a nomination from Varanasi, isn’t getting nomination papers from the administration. Why is PM Modi afraid of people? Let them contest against you.”