After filing his nomination form, Tej Bahadur announced that he would contest on the SP symbol and the party confirmed that it had replaced Shalini Yadav as its candidate from the high-profile seat.
Varanasi: The BSF constable who was dismissed in 2017 after he posted a video online complaining about the food served to the troops will now contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a Samajwadi Party ticket. The former jawan had earlier planned to contest the election as an independent candidate.
After filing his nomination form, Tej Bahadur announced that he would contest on the SP symbol and the party confirmed that it had replaced Shalini Yadav as its candidate from the high-profile seat. Shalini Yadav had filed her nomination on the party symbol earlier.
“I will contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi constituency as an independent candidate,” Tej Bahadur Yadav told reporters in Rewari, Haryana, recently.
“I am contesting as an Independent candidate from Varanasi. The Prime Minister had said he will give the status of martyrs to soldiers of paramilitary forces and will give them a pension. I will ask the Prime Minister if you had made promises, what all did you do to date?” asked Yadav in March.
He added, “It is an equal fight, on the one side you have an Asli Chowkidar (real watchman) and on the other side, you have a Nakli Chowkidar (fake watchman).”
On April 22, the Samajwadi Party fielded Shalini Yadav from Varanasi parliamentary constituency. Yadav is the daughter-in-law of former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Shyam Lal Yadav. She had unsuccessfully run for the Mayoral poll of Varanasi Municipal Corporation in 2017 from the Congress.
Yadav had uploaded a video on social media in 2017, complaining that poor quality food was being served to the troops at Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
He was later dismissed on the charge of indiscipline after a three-month-long proceeding at a summary court-martial held in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district.
Varanasi and Chandauli will go to polls on May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.