Comedian Shyam Rangeela, who had on Tuesday submitted his nomination papers to contest elections from Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday evening said that his nomination has been rejected “on the ground that he did not take the oath”.

The 29-year-old from Rajasthan, Shyam Rangeela, shot to fame for mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier this month, he had announced that he would contest the Lok Sabha elections against PM Modi in Varanasi.

He had filed the nomination on May 14 and posted a video on X. The 29-year-old had filed the nomination as an Independent candidate.

Also Read: Lok Sabha elections: PM Modi files nomination from Varanasi eying a hattrick

A day later, the Election Commission of India’s website showed that Rangeela’s nomination was rejected.

“My nomination has been rejected…They don’t want me to contest from here. They took my nomination papers after 3 pm on Tuesday (the last day for filing nomination), 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,” Rangeela told The Indian Express.

The comedian had previously alleged obstructions in filing a nomination. “There were proposers, the form was also filled in, but no one was ready to accept it. We will try again tomorrow,” Shyam Rangeela tweeted on May 13.

On May 14, he said that the election officials were not responding to his calls and he was unable to file his nomination. Hours later, he confirmed that he had managed to file the nomination papers by “fulfilling all the requirements as per the rules”.

His nomination, however, has been rejected by the poll panel.

Taking to X, Rangeela tweeted a video, saying “democracy has been murdered”. In a video message, Rangeela 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 isn’t their work. The second thing is that sir was saying that on May 14, 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 May 10 with several others… My friend was beaten up. Modiji may act and cry, but I don’t want to cry here.”

“27 nominations were submitted yesterday and 32 were rejected today, I feel like laughing at the Election Commission, should I laugh? Or should I cry?” he added.

Reacting to Rangeela’s post, the official account of Varanasi District Magistrate S Rajalingam wrote, “Your nomination paper was scrutinized in your presence and you were informed about the deficiencies. Your nomination paper has been cancelled 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,” Indan Express reported.

Also Read: Comedian Shyam Rangeela, who shot to fame mimicking Modi, to contest against PM from Varanasi

Formerly a staunch supporter of PM Modi, Mr Rangeela had said that the circumstances have evolved over the past decade, prompting his decision to contest against the Prime Minister 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.

The Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in the seventh and last phase of polling on June 1. The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election will be on June 4.