Dismissed BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, whose nomination to contest from Varanasi was rejected , moved the Supreme Court on Monday, saying he was cast out of the Lok Sabha poll fray to orchestrate a “walkover” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Modi is contesting from Varanasi as the candidate of the ruling BJP.
Mr. Yadav, who was supported by the Samajwadi Party , found himself out of the fight after the Returning Officer (RO) found his nomination papers faulty. The RO had rejected his nomination on the ground that he did not furnish records to prove that his dismissal from BSF was not brought about by corruption or disloyalty to the State.
The petition contended that the RO had “completely failed to appreciate Mr. Yadav had produced his dismissal letter along with his nomination paper.”
The dismissal letter, the petition said, clearly showed that the former soldier was dismissed from service for alleged indiscipline and neither for corruption nor disloyalty to the State.
“It seems the decision was taken keeping in mind the sensitivity of the contest in Varanasi constituency and to give walkover to the candidate of the ruling party by disqualifying the petitioner whose candidature was gaining momentum and was therefore also supported by the main opposition alliance of two major political parties in the state. The malafide is apparent,” Mr. Yadav's petition contended.
Mr. Yadav said the RO had rejected his candidature even without waiting for the EC's response on a representation sent by him in this regard.
The petitioner has urged the apex court to quash and set aside the RO's order of May 1
Mr. Yadav asked the Supreme Court to direct the ECI to allow him to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi.
