According to the poll body website, out of 55 candidates, forms of 36 candidates were rejected while affidavits of 15 candidates, including PM Modi and Congress’s Ajay Rai were accepted.
Shyam Rangeela had filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Varanasi seat on Tuesday. The comedian had also alleged that he was prevented from submitting his nomination papers. Rangeela alleged that despite his efforts to file nomination since May 10, he was denied access to the district magistrate’s office on the day Prime Minister Modi submitted his nomination.
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 the election 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.
Rangeela gained fame for mimicking PM Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi on a comedy show.
Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi is scheduled to be held on June 1.