Earlier this month, Shyam Rangeela declared his candidacy for Varanasi as an Independent.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination for the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh”s Varanasi on Tuesday. PM Modi was joined by BJP chief JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma. The videos from the grand nomination quickly flooded social media platforms. PM Modi, accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, began his day by offering prayers at the iconic Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav Temple.
Meanwhile, comedian Shyam Rangeela, who has decided to challenge PM Modi for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, encountered alleged difficulties in filing his nomination. With today being the final day for nominations, Rangeela expressed frustration over his inability to obtain the nomination form, urging the Election Commission to intervene promptly.
Earlier this month, Rangeela declared his candidacy for Varanasi as an Independent. He said that he would provide voters in Varanasi with an alternative choice, unlike in Surat and Indore, where BJP”s Mukesh Dalal and Shankar Lalwani won uncontested.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) this morning, Rangeela shared that he reached the Varanasi Election Commission Office at 9:15 am. Despite his efforts through various channels like email, phone calls, and in-person visits, he lamented the lack of any response, highlighting the urgency as only three hours remained until the nomination deadline.
This isn”t the first instance of Rangeela reportedly being denied the opportunity to file his nomination from the Varanasi seat. On May 13, he voiced concerns over what he perceives as a denial of his fundamental right to contest elections.
On May 10, after failing to obtain nomination form, Rangeela wrote on X, “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 line 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.”
“However, such a provision is not in accordance with the rules of the Election Commission. I request the honourable Election Commission to provide proper directions to the Varanasi district administration, strengthening our faith in the democracy of this country,” he added.
“I have seen people crying trying to get nominations. People have been waiting since 8 AM in the collectorate. They are not being given the form. The officials are asking us to understand the matter, and we are understanding why we are not being given the form.”
“I can see democracy being strangled,” Shyam claimed that despite completing all the process as said by the officials, they were not let inside the collectorate, “this is to enable PM Modi to win unopposed. I will not take my decision back, I will file the nomination,” he added.
In 2017, Shyam Rangeela catapulted to stardom with his spot-on mimicry of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. He also mimicked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
In 2022, Rangeela joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rajasthan. He claimed that he had supported PM Modi and the BJP in the 2014 elections. Rangeela cited the growing intolerance towards political satire and mimicry as a key factor influencing his decision to enter politics. Before joining AAP, he tagged PM Modi in his posts and said it was disappointing that couldn”t go on TV shows because the people “fear you”, asking if his “mimicry was a crime”.
PM Modi is seeking a third consecutive term from the BJP stronghold of Varanasi. The BJP has dominated this constituency, winning it eight times since 1991, with the sole exception of RK Mishra of the Congress in 2004.
Varanasi will vote in the seventh and final phase of the election on June 1. In the 2019 election, PM Modi won by nearly 4.8 lakh votes, a big jump from the 3.72 lakh winning margin five years earlier.
The 2014 election in Varanasi witnessed a high-profile showdown between PM Modi and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal, with Kejriwal garnering just over 20 percent of the votes in the BJP stronghold. This time around, PM Modi”s primary challenger, at least on paper, is Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who secured 1.52 lakh votes in the 2019 elections, reflecting an improved vote share of 7.04 percent.
Demographically, Hindus constitute approximately 75 percent of Varanasi”s population, while Muslims make up around 20 percent. Scheduled Tribes account for an estimated 10 percent of the population, with Scheduled Castes representing only 0.7 percent. The urban-rural divide in the population stands at 35 percent urban and 65 percent rural.
