 "Why was Shyam Rangeela's nomination from Varanasi turned down? What are the rules for rejecting candidatures?")
Comedian Shyam Rangeela’s nomination from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency has been rejected. He had filed his nomination on Tuesday (14 May) as an Independent candidate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the high-profile seat in Uttar Pradesh.
According to the by the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) website, 38 nominations were rejected, while, 17 affidavits, including those of PM Modi and Congress’ Ajay Rai, were accepted.
But why was Rangeela’s nomination turned down by the EC? What are the rules for rejecting a candidate’s affidavit? Let’s take a closer look.
Shyam Rangeela’s nomination rejected
According to Rangeela, his nomination was cancelled “on the ground that he did not take the oath”.
“My nomination has been rejected…They don’t want me to contest from here. They took my nomination papers after 3 pm on Tuesday, while I was alone. I was a first-timer and didn’t know the process. No one told me that I was to take an oath. Now, they are saying that because I did not take an oath, my papers were rejected,” he told Indian Express on Wednesday (15 May).
The 29-year-old had previously alleged on Tuesday that he was not being allowed to file his nomination against PM Modi from Varanasi.
Rangeela , who shot to fame for mimicking Modi, said he had been trying to file his nomination papers since 10 May. Earlier, he also claimed he was not allowed to enter the Varanasi district magistrate’s office on 14 May – the last date of filing nomination for the seat. It was also on this day that PM Modi filed his nomination papers.
“I have all the proposers and the documents. But they are not taking my nomination,” Rangeela said outside the DM’s office on Tuesday morning. “You may reject my nomination, that’s a different issue. But at least accept my nomination.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsLater on Tuesday, Rangeela filed his nomination under his official name, Shyam Sunder.
After filing his nomination, he posted on X, “My electoral future is in the hands of all election officials who are the guardians of our democracy … with the hope that they will all strengthen our faith, your Shyam Rangeela.”
He again took to social media after his nomination was rejected.
कल 27 नामांकन जमा हुए और आज 32 रिजेक्ट हो गये,
— Shyam Rangeela (@ShyamRangeela) May 15, 2024
हंसी आ रही है चुनाव आयोग पर , हंस लूँ क्या ? या रो लूँ ? https://t.co/ORYVStP4on
In a video on X, the comic, who hails from Rajasthan, alleged that “the Election Commission has made elections in Varanasi a game.”
“Today, my nomination was rejected. If you were to not clear it, why did you accept it? We submitted all documents… Today, the DM told me that there was some issue with my documents and that I didn’t take the oath… They didn’t let the lawyers go in with me and called me alone. Now, the reason they gave is that I didn’t take an oath and that it was on me to take an oath. I said you didn’t ask me to, and they responded it wasn’t their work.”
“The second thing is that sir was saying that on 14 May, I submitted the form at 2.58 pm, and that if there was some issue with it, I would have had time till 3 pm. I have been trying here since 10 May with several others… My friend was beaten up,” Rangeela alleged.
Varanasi will vote in the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections on 1 June.
When nominations were rejected
In April, the EC rejected the nomination papers of the Congress candidate from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency, Nilesh Kumbhani.
His nomination was invalidated on 21 April after three proposers gave affidavits to Surat DEO Saurabh Pardhi, claiming the signatures on the form were not theirs, reported Indian Express.
The nomination papers of Suresh Padsala, the Congress’ substitute candidate from Surat, were also turned down on the same grounds.
After the remaining candidates withdrew their nomination forms, the BJP’s Surat candidate Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed on 22 April.
#WATCH | Gujarat: Mukesh Dalal, BJP's candidate from the Surat Lok Sabha seat collects his winning certificate after he was elected unopposed
— ANI (@ANI) April 22, 2024
The Congress candidate's form was rejected by the Returning Officer, the other eight candidates for the seat withdrew their nominations.… pic.twitter.com/Uzslcbj8aD
Last month, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Election Commission to curb the “arbitrary and mala fide” exercise of discretion by the returning officers (ROs) in rejecting the nomination papers of candidates.
It was filed by Jawahar Kumar Jha, whose nomination papers as an Independent candidate from Banka Lok Sabha seat in Bihar were turned down.
The petitioner argued that Section 36(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states that ROs shall not reject nomination papers “on the ground of any defect which is not of a substantial character.”
However, the plea pointed out that the criteria for this were not defined and sought a direction to the ROs across the country “to mandatorily provide a reasonable opportunity of at least a day to every candidate to cure every defect marked in the election nomination papers”, PTI reported.
Rules for rejecting nominations
Once candidates file nominations for contesting polls, their papers are scrutinised by the Returning Officer. Only those whose forms are cleared by the ROs are eligible to fight the elections.
Section 36 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 pertains to the scrutiny of nomination papers by the returning officer in elections.
The grounds for rejection include:
If the candidate is not a citizen of India or is under 25 years of age (in case of general elections).
Disqualifications can be done if the candidates or their proposers have not presented the nomination before the Returning Officer or specified Assistant Returning Officer.
If the nomination paper is submitted after the deadline, on a Public Holiday, or after 3 pm during the period of filling nominations.
The form is “presented at the place other than the place specified in the notice published by the Returning Officer under Section 31 of the RP Act, 1951”, as per the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana.
In case of discrepancies related to signatures or if details in the form are not complete.
A candidate can be dismissed if they have not taken “an oath of affirmation on the date of scrutiny of nomination papers.”
“In case of the candidate, who is removed from Government service and five years from such removal are not completed, the certificate of Election Commission stating that he has not been removed on ground of corruption or disloyalty to the nation is not submitted by the candidate,” the website says.
With inputs from agencies
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