The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday, fielded Tej Bahadur Yadav, a dismissed BSF (Border Security Force) officer, against PM Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
Yadav first caught the media attention when a video of him complaining about the quality of food being served went viral in January 2017. Subsequently, Yadav was terminated from his services after the claims made by him were termed false by a Staff Court of Inquiry (SCoI).
The opposition, SP-BSP alliance, had earlier named Shalini Yadav, daughter-in-law of a former Congress lawmaker, as the candidate for the Varanasi seat. Yadav had earlier filed a nomination from the seat to fight against Modi in the upcoming general election.
Praising the SP’s decision, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “On one side, there is a soldier who risked his life for Mother India as well as lost his job fighting for his rights. On the other, there is a person who sacked officers who spoke for the rights of soldiers as well as seeking votes in the name of martyrs.”
अखिलेश जी, आपको बहुत बहुत बधाई
PM को चुनौती देने के लिए तेज़ बहादुर को सलाम
एक तरफ़ माँ भारती के लिए जान दाँव पर लगाने और जवानों के हक़ की लड़ाई में अपनी नौकरी गँवाने वाला शख़्स
दूसरी ओर जवानों की आवाज़ उठाने वाले की नौकरी छीनने और जवानों की लाशों पर वोट माँगने वाला शख़्स https://t.co/xRJvJg1maV
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 29, 2019
Scores of people filed nominations to fight against Modi
After the nomination process began on April 26, 31 candidates have filed nominations so far, 106 have collected challan forms out of which 75 have deposited the fee, reported Times of India.
In addition to that, 55 turmeric farmers from Nizamabad in Telangana have decided to contest in the election against Modi from the Varanasi seat.
Speaking to The News Minute about the decision, Kotapati Narasimha Naidu, who is leading the delegation from Nizamabad said that though the farmers have been fighting to be heard for the past 12 years, they have been repeatedly let down by the legislators which is why they have decided to take up the issue by themselves. “We want support prices for our turmeric, which is the primary demand,” Naidu said.
Earlier, in order to highlight the plight of farmers across states, 40 farmers from Tamil Nadu had filed nominations to contest against PM Narendra Modi. With every passing day, more people are coming to Varanasi to file their nomination. It is yet not confirmed how many people will end up contesting from the Varanasi seat.
So far in 2019, owing to the same turmeric farmers, Nizamabad Lok Sabha seat in Telangana has the highest number of nominations at 185, according to a report by The Times of India.
