Varanasi: Comedian Shyam Rangeela, whose election nomination papers to contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat were rejected by the Election Commission, has accused the administration of bias and being uncooperative during the filing process.

Rangeela has issued a video message making these allegations a day after his nomination was denied.

He alleged that only 15 applications, including PM Modi’s and Congress pick Ajay Rai, were accepted while 36 were rejected.

He said the nomination process is laced with hurdles, and he was barred from submitting his papers on time.

"Today, the District Magistrate told me that there was some issue with my documents and that I did not take the oath. They did not let the lawyers go in with me and called me alone. My friend was beaten up. Modiji may act and cry, but I don't want to cry here," Rangeela said.

"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.

Taking note of his remarks, the district magistrate of Varanasi responded, pointing out that the affidavit submitted by him “was incomplete” and he “did not take the oath/affirmation”.

The DM’s office also underscored that Rangeela was promptly informed about the deficiencies and also provided the “a copy of the order”.

Rangeela decided to contest against PM Modi in the Lok Sabha elections as the “situation has changed in the last 10 years”.

"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 Lok Sabha constituency saw a landmark contest in 2014 when Narendra Modi, then the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, faced off against AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Modi's decisive win, with a margin of over 300,000 votes, cemented Varanasi as a stronghold for the BJP, a position he seeks to maintain in the upcoming elections.

Varanasi, which includes five assembly seats, has been a political battleground between the BJP and the Congress for decades.

Since 1957, the BJP has dominated the seat since 1991, winning it seven times, while the Congress has also had considerable influence, claiming victory six times. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have never won the Varanasi seat.