New Delhi: The Election Commission rejected comedian Shyam Rangeela’s nomination from Varanasi constituency against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on technical grounds on May 15, a day after he filed his papers as an independent candidate amid an excruciatingly delayed process.
The district magistrate of Varanasi said Rangeela’s nomination paper was rejected as the affidavit submitted by him was found to be “incomplete”. Rangeela also did not take the “oath and affirmation,” said the DM after Rangeela questioned why his papers were rejected.
The check list of documents that need to be scrutinised during filling of nomination includes ticking a box whether the candidate has taken oath and affirmation.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Rangeela (29), who shot to fame due to his ability to mimic Modi, was devastated by the returning officer’s decision to reject his nomination. “It was settled that they would not let me contest from Varanasi. Now, it has become clear. My heart is definitely broken but my spirit is not,” he said, referring to the alleged obstruction he faced in filing his nomination and its eventual rejection.
Rangeela filed his papers on May 14 evening after alleging that he had been deliberately stopped from filing nomination. After he filed the nomination, the section under ‘oath and affirmation: whether taken” in the check list of documents was marked with a “No.” Rangeela said that he then reached the DM’s office with a document pertaining to oath taking. He alleged that although he along with his lawyer reached the premises before 10 pm, the officials tried to turn them away, asking them to come in the morning. May 14 was the last date for filing of nomination.
Rangeela, citing the slip of the check list of documents, said that he had been given till 11.59 pm on May 14 to submit the document he had failed to submit earlier in the day. Rangeela decided to wait at the DM’s office so that the revised affidavit could be submitted. When he finally met the official, Rangeela claimed he was rudely asked to leave.
Also read: ‘Politics Is the Comedy Today’: Shyam Rangeela on Why He Is Contesting Against Modi
“When we informed him that we had come with the affidavit before [closing] time (11:59 pm), he said, ‘Are you here for a picnic? You are roaming around at night. Is this a picnic spot? Get out of here.’,” said Rangeela, in a video he posted on his X handle.
The Rajasthan-native Rangeela, who filed his nomination under his official name Shyam Sunder, said he met the DM again on May 15. He said the DM informed him that the documents had to be submitted latest by 3 pm on May 14. “How can they say 3 pm when you took my nomination only at 5 pm?” Rangeela asked the DM.
Rangeela said that he asked the DM how the oath was supposed to be taken and in case there was any shortcoming, he was more than willing to correct it. But the DM asked him to not argue and leave from there, alleged Rangeela.
As per election rules, the oath has to be taken after filing nomination paper and before the date fixed for scrutiny. The Affidavit in Form 26 and Form A & B have to be filed latest by 3 pm on the last date of filing nomination.
After Rangeela raised questions over the rejection of his nomination, DM Varanasi said :Your nomination paper was scrutinized in your presence and you were informed about the deficiencies. Your nomination paper has been rejected because the affidavit submitted by you was incomplete and you did not take the oath/affirmation, a copy of the order of which has also been made available to you.”
Heartbroken, Rangeela said, “In a democracy, only those chosen by the [Election] Commission have the right to contest.”
Earlier, on May 14 and May 13, Rangeela had alleged that he was not being allowed to file his nomination and that the process was being deliberately delayed so that many independent candidates like him would miss out.
“With your love and support, I have filed my nomination after fulfilling all the requirements as per the rules. I still have full faith in the democracy of this country,” Rangeela said in a post on X late on Tuesday.
After declaring that he would challenge Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Rangeela landed in Varanasi but till the afternoon of May 14, the last date of filing nomination for the seat, he could not–or as he alleged, was not allowed to– file his papers. “I have all the proposers and the documents. But they are not taking my nomination,” Rangeela had said on Tuesday morning outside the Varanasi District Magistrate’s office.
On Monday, May 13, he even shot off a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi demanding that he be allowed to file his nomination after accusing officials in Varanasi of “illegal” and “arbitrary” behaviour.
Rangeela’s rejection also brought back memories of the 2019 election, when the returning officer in Varanasi had rejected the nomination of sacked BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav who was the initial official candidate of the Samajwadi Party against Modi. Yadav had sprung into the limelight after he had complained about the poor quality of food served to the BSP personnel.
According to the ECI website, the nominations of Modi, his Congress opponent Ajay Rai and the Bahujan Samaj Party’s candidate Ather Jamal Lari, have been accepted. Varanasi votes on June 1, in the seventh and last phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
