Challenges are escalating for Sanatan Pandey, the Samajwadi Party's candidate from the Ballia Lok Sabha seat, following the registration of a hate speech case against him. The police registered an FIR, detailing that Pandey has been accused of inciting hatred and hostility among different societal sections and threatening the district electoral officer.
According to SP Dev Ranjan Verma of Ballia, a complaint lodged by Sub Inspector Makhan Singh led to the initiation of proceedings against Pandey under IPC sections for exerting undue influence during elections, threatening public servants, and obstructing them in their duty.
Pandey had allegedly made comments on April 27 that were aimed at sowing discord and animosity between different social classes and extended threats towards the district electoral official.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Pandey was defeated by BJP's Virendra Singh Mast by a margin of just 16,000 votes, as a nominee of the Samajwadi Party. Ballia is set to vote in the seventh phase on June 1st. Previously, LDF MLA P.V. Anwar also found himself in deeper trouble for delivering a hate speech against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, with the police registering a case for promoting enmity between groups.
Anwar had addressed a rally in Kerala's Palakkad district on April 22, derogatorily calling Rahul Gandhi a 'fourth-class citizen' and suggesting that his DNA needed examination. His harsh words came under scrutiny, and Anwar claimed that Gandhi did not deserve to be referred to by the surname Gandhi.
