Comedian Shyam Rangeela has announced that he will be running in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s constituency. Rangeela—who is known for his impressions of celebrities and politicians, including the Prime Minister—will be contesting the elections as an independent candidate to ensure that “democracy lives on.” The 29-year-old from Rajasthan will be travelling to Varanasi this weekend to file his nomination papers, Indian Express reports.

In a video he shared on social media announcing his candidature, Rangeela cited the BJP’s recent unopposed win in Surat and Indore and the election manipulation fiasco in the Chandigarh mayoral polls as his reasons for running. “I feel like it shouldn’t be that there is no other candidate to vote for,” he says in the video. “Even if one person wants to vote against a candidate, he or she has that right. Someone’s name should be on the EVM.”

Urging the people of Varanasi to vote for him, Rangeela insisted that this wasn’t a symbolic act but a genuine attempt at contributing to the democratic process. He also took a swipe at the BJP over the electoral bonds controversy, saying that “I am excited to contest the election, but this is my first time. So, I would need your support. I don’t have electoral bonds and have not taken from anyone. So, I would need some wealth, too.”

This isn’t Rangeela’s first brush with electoral politics. In 2022, he joined the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of elections in Rajasthan. However, shortly after, he decided to work independently. Varanasi goes to polls in the seventh phase of voting in the Lok Sabha election on 1 June. The results will be declared on June 4.