Comedian Shyam Rangeela, who announced publicly that he would challenge PM Modi from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, alleged on Tuesday that he was again not provided with the nomination papers even after repeated attempts. His alleged efforts to reach out to the DM office and try to connect with the Returning Officer also did not fetch any positive results and he did not receive the nomination form.
Taking the matter to X, Rangeela in a video said,” It’s 9:15 am and it has been 15-20 minutes since I reached here. I have everything with me, including all the required documents but they are not accepting my nomination. Reject if you want but accept it.”
In the video, Rangeela can be seen asking police officers about his intentions to file a nomination to which a police officer replies saying, "Right now, sir is not there." One of the senior officers asks Rangeela to come after 12 pm.
After a while, the stand-up comedian can be seen speaking to someone at the DM office about filing his nomination. He tells the person on the phone that yesterday as well he was stuck in the line to file the nomination but before his turn could come, the authorities closed the gates. The person on the phone then says that the Returning Officer and his team look into the matter and not the DM office and allegedly cuts the call.
Watch the video here:
As per Rangeela, he was there to file his nominations for the Lok Sabha elections on Friday as well however, he alleges that even after asking for the nomination forms, he did not receive it and time for filing the nomination was up. On Friday too he urged the Election Commission of India to intervene in the matter.
“The process of obtaining nomination forms in Varanasi has been made so complicated that it has become very difficult to get the form. After waiting in queue for hours, the election office said that you should first submit copies of the Aadhaar cards of ten proposers (including signatures) and their phone numbers, only then will you get the treasury challan form for the form,” Rangeela posted on X on Friday.
Rangeela, known for mimicking PM Modi, is set to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Modi’s constituency Varanasi as an Independent candidate.
It’s been four days since the nomination process for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency started and Rangeela has time till today to file his nomination.
PM Modi, Ajay Rai from the Congress-SP alliance and BSP’s Atahar Jamal Lari are also contesting for this seat. Varanasi will vote in the seventh and final phase of polling, on June 1.
