Indian comedian blocked from running against Modi: ‘Democracy was murdered today’

A comedian seeking to take on Narendra Modi as an independent candidate in India’s general election said his application was rejected by the authorities on a technicality he was not aware of.

Stand-up comedian Shyam Rangeela, who is known for his viral impressions of the prime minister, said he had submitted all the documents needed for his nomination from northern Uttar Pradesh state’s Varanasi, a holy city by the River Ganges and Mr Modi’s high-stakes constituency.

However, Mr Rangeela said late on Tuesday his application was rejected on the ground that he did not take an oath or affirmation as required for all candidates in a format prescribed by India’s Election Commission as part of a nomination checklist.

He said this was a step he was not informed about by the authorities.

“I have seen how democracy was murdered today,” Mr Rangeela told reporters after his nomination papers were rejected.

“They don’t want me to contest from here. They took my nomination papers after 3pm on Tuesday while I was alone. I am a first-timer and I did not know the process. No one told me that I was required to take an oath,” he said, adding that his lawyers were also not allowed inside the premises or informed.

The district magistrate of Varanasi said Mr Rangeela’s nomination paper was rejected as the affidavit submitted by him was found to be “incomplete”, according to The Wire.

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Mr Rangeela, 29, had earlier said his efforts to file nomination papers in Varanasi, a seat Mr Modi, 73, has not lost since 2014, had been rejected by local officials for the past three days running.

He had called the initial acceptance of his candidature documents by the officials a “win for us in a democracy”.

In a video shared on his social media on Tuesday, he said officials were denying him entry inside the district magistrate’s office, just hours before Mr Modi was scheduled to file his nomination papers.

Flanked by his cabinet ministers and a heavy posse of security personnel, Mr Modi filed his papers in the city on Tuesday around 11.40am, after offering prayers at Ganges, a spectacle which dominated all major Indian news channels for much of the day.

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The comedian said: “Mr Modi filed his nomination... surrounded by his security staff and cabinet minister. No one could have come close to him, while we sweated for days outside the office to successfully file our nomination.”

Mr Rangeela had vowed to be the face of all independent candidates looking to compete against Mr Modi, stating that voters should be allowed to choose who they want as their leader in a democracy. He said he wanted to give voters options other than Mr Modi, even if he did not have the political acumen to actually pose a threat to the prime minister.

“You don’t need to fear anything at all, I am an independent face and I will remain in the race without any other political party’s support. We, independent candidates, are all one,” Mr Rangeela had said as words of encouragement to other aspirants.

He added that his decision stemmed from what he claimed was “unfairness and discrimination against political competition” in some of the big seats such as Surat in Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate Mukesh Dalal was declared the uncontested winner from Surat after other eight candidates in the fray withdrew following the rejection of the Congress opposition party candidate Nilesh Kumbhani’s nomination.

Local officials claimed Mr Kumbhani’s nomination was rejected due to discrepancies in signatures of his proposers, but several local opposition politicians have alleged serious cases of obstruction and police intimidation.

Varanasi will be voting on 1 June and will see Mr Modi running in the race for the third time with his major competition in the city being Ajay Rai from the opposition Congress party.

Results this time around will be announced alongside the rest of the country’s on 4 June.