Narendra Modi's election from Varanasi challenged, Allahabad HC issues notice
On Friday, the Allahabad High Court issued a notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection to a plea challenging his election from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. The plea was filed by ex-BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who was supposed to fight from the holy town but couldn't as his candidature was rejected by the returning officer. Here are more details.
PM Modi, who first fought elections from Varanasi in 2014, was re-elected this time too by a record margin. After Yadav's candidature was canceled, the gathbandhan of SP-BSP placed its bets on Shalini Yadav. Interestingly, she was their first choice. Meanwhile, Congress gave its ticket to Ajay Rai. While PM Modi polled 6,74,664 votes, Shalini got 1,95,159 and Ajay settled for 1,52,548.
Notably, Yadav's candidature was rejected on May 1 after he allegedly failed to submit a certificate related to his expulsion from BSF. Yadav couldn't reveal whether or not he was dismissed for corruption or being disloyal to the country. To recall, Yadav became a national news topic in 2017 after he released a video highlighting the poor quality of food served to soldiers.
In May, Yadav had also approached the Supreme Court against returning officer's decision. But CJI Ranjan Gogoi dismissed his request saying, "We don't find any merit to entertain this petition." Now, in his fresh plea, Yadav has alleged his nomination paper was "wrongfully" canceled and requested the court to declare PM Modi's election "null and void". Justice MK Gupta will hear the case on August 21.
