Who is Shyam Rangeela, contesting from Varanasi against Narendra Modi? 10 things

Shyam Rangeela was an internet sensation because of his mimicry act of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was 2017 when the internet discovered him and his videos went viral. Seven years down the line, he put himself forward as a candidate against Narendra Modi from Varanasi. In a video, he provided a detailed explanation of why he wanted to contest the election as an independent candidate. But this is not his debut in politics; the comedian joined the Aam Aadmi Party Rajasthan in 2022.
1. Shyam Rangeela is from Rajasthan. He was born in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh in 1994.
2. Coming from a farming background, Shyam Rangeela always aspired to be a comedian and he started living his dream as his initiation videos went viral.
3. His real name is Shyam Sundar. He took part in the Great Indian Laughter Challenge show in 2017 but was ousted from the show for mimicking Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi.
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4. The video which was never aired got leaked and went viral. At that time, Rangeela was criticised for ‘abusing’ Modi but he said he was a Modi fan.
5. With his popularity rising, he got calls from many shows but his script or act was not being approved at the last moment, he said earlier describing his comedy career.
6. In 2022, Shyam Rangeela joined the Aam Aadmi Party in Rajasthan. Without any post in the party, he was allowed to work for the party independently.
7. Shyam Rangeela runs a YouTube channel which has 924k subscribers. The videos are mostly of his stand-up performances.
8. On his YouTube channel, he runs a show named ‘Dhang ki baat’ mimicking Narendra Modi.
9. Recently, the comedian asked his followers whether he should contest from Varanasi independently.
10. On May 1, he announced that he would contest from Varanasi. He said what happened in Surat should not happen in Varanasi and someone’s name should be there on the EVM and hence he decided to enter the contest.