Daijiworld Media Network - Varanasi

Varanasi, May 3: Over a hundred independent candidates who filed nominations from Varanasi, to fight elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi were disappointed after Election Commission rejected their applications.

Only 26 applications were approved, and the independents blamed EC for bias.

The most controversial rejection was of Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who was contesting against the PM on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

Yadav accused BJP for stopping him from fighting elections and said he will approach Supreme Court. Yadav had first filed his nomination on April 24 as an independent and later on April 29 on Samajwadi Party ticket.

“If there were issues why I was not informed earlier? Even though there was a lack of time, all details were furnished. I even furnished a NOC (No-Objection Certificate) from the BSF, which was required by the Returning Officer (RO). I was asked to produce the evidence at 6.15 pm on Tuesday. We produced the evidence but still my nomination was rejected,” he was quoted telling media.

However, Varanasi district administration maintained that the nomination was cancelled as he failed to furnish documents in time.

"An individual dismissed from service from a state or Central government post in the last five years has to obtain a certificate from the Election Commission stating that he was not dismissed on the grounds of disloyalty or corruption. He was told to produce the NOC by 11 am of May 1, as this was the deadline, but he failed to do so, and his nomination was rejected," the Varanasi district magistrate told media.

Varanasi-based activist Aflatoon, who heads the Samajwadi Jain Parishad blames BJP for double standards.

“How can Pragya Singh Thakur be allowed to contest given that she has been charged with terror-related crimes?” he questions.

He questions on why NOC was not asked when Tej Bahadur Yadav applied as an independent on April 24.