In a jolt to the opposition's INDIA bloc in Madhya Pradesh, nomination of the Samajwadi Party's candidate from Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency, Meera Yadav, was on Friday rejected by the returning officer.
The development left the SP fuming with its chief Akhilesh Yadav terming it a "blatant murder" of democracy and demanding judicial probe.
Meera Yadav would challenge the rejection in the High Court, her husband Deep Narayan Yadav said.
Congress, the main Opposition party in the BJP-ruled state, had left the Khajuraho seat for SP as per the seat-sharing arrangement within the INDIA bloc.
Polling will be held for the seat in the second phase, on April 26.
The Panna district collector, who is also the election returning officer, rejected Meera Yadav's nomination as she had not signed the 'B form' and also failed to attach a certified copy of the 2023 assembly elections voters' list, a senior official said.
The BJP has fielded its state unit president and sitting MP Vishnu Dutt Sharma who is seeking a second term from Khajuraho.
Yadav's husband Deep Narayan told reporters that they would move the high court against the returning officer's order.
"The form was verified yesterday after scrutiny. There is a rule that if there is any discrepancy, it is the duty of the returning officer to get it rectified even if the candidate is illiterate," he said.
"Yesterday, the form was found to be alright. Today, two shortcomings were pointed out. First, the voters' list attached with the form is not certified or it is old. Signature was supposed to be made at two places, but it was made only in one place," he added.
Yadav also claimed that they did not get a certified copy of voters' list till April 3, and hence attached a copy that was available.
"We requested him (collector) that we still had time as we had come before (the deadline of) 3 pm, and it could be rectified. He should have told us yesterday about it and we could have done it by now," Yadav added.
To a question, he said there were 15 other candidates in the fray, and "we will support one of them after consulting our senior leaders." The election will be contested under any circumstances, he added.
Taking to X, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted,'" The rejection of INDIA bloc's SP candidate from Khajuraho seat was a blatant murder of democracy.
"It is being said that it (nomination form) was not signed. Why the officer looking after '(such things) accepted the form. This is all just excuses and frustration of the defeated BJP," he stated.
There should be a judicial probe as the rejection of a candidate's nomination is a crime in democracy, Yadav wrote.
Notably, the SP had announced on March 30 that Manoj Yadav, who belongs to Shikohabad in Uttar Pradesh, would be given ticket from Khajuraho. But two days later, it replaced him with Meera Yadav, a local face, to take on V D Sharma who had won Khajuraho seat by more than 4.5 lakh votes in 2019.
Meera Yadav had won from Niwari assembly seat, part of Khajuraho Lok Sabha constituency, as SP candidate in 2008. Her husband Deep Narayan was the SP MLA in 2007 and 2012 from Garautha in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, which shares a border with MP's Niwari district. He has also been the SP's Madhya Pradesh unit chief.
The BJP has been winning the Khajuraho seat since 2004.
