Ballia, 28 April: Sanatan Pandey, the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Ballia Lok Sabha constituency, has been charged for allegedly promoting enmity, hostility, and animosity among various sectors of society and threatening the District Election Officer, according to police on Sunday.
According to Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma, an FIR has been filed against Pandey under Section 171 F of the IPC (exercising undue influence in elections), Section 189 (threatening a public servant), Section 186 (obstructing a public servant in public work), Section 505 (2) (spreading hatred and animosity between different groups), and Sections 125 and 136 of the Representation of the People Act 1950.
He said that on April 27, Pandey was accused of inciting hostility, anger, and antagonism among various parts of society and threatening the District Election Officer while commenting on the current government’s term and activities. Pandey lost the Lok Sabha elections 2019 as an SP candidate to the BJP’s Virendra Singh Mast by 16,000 votes.
Ballia will have its seventh phase of voting on June 1.
