“This election is not an election. We are given rations for two square meals and asked to shut up and be happy in this country. We are not free people.”

This is what 37-year-old Sunil Kumar Bind told Scroll after his nomination to contest the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi was rejected. 

In Gandhinagar constituency, where 16 candidates withdrew their nominations, three alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the state police mounted pressure on them to do so.

Our reporting in recent weeks has made it clear that something is deeply wrong with India's electoral machinery. The prime minister has lied to the electorate, Muslims have been prevented from exercising their right to franchise and the Election Commission has been defanged. 

Earlier this year, we promised to bring you the most diverse and crucial coverage of the Lok Sabha elections. Here’s what we’ve delivered:

1. Fact-checking five days of Narendra Modi’s speeches: A catalogue of lies

2. Varanasi poll: As 33 nominations are rejected, eight applicants allege that the process was rigged

3. In Amit Shah’s Gandhinagar, three Lok Sabha candidates allege they faced pressure to withdraw

4. In Sambhal, Muslims allege UP police stormed booths, snatched IDs and beat up voters on polling day

5. Why some Kashmiris who spurned ballot in the past may vote in this Lok Sabha election

6. Indore Congress candidate backed out days after attempt-to-murder charge added to 17-year-old case

7. The BJP wants an Opposition-free Gujarat. But some are putting up a fight

8. Ordinary voters flagged Modi speech to Election Commission – and came up against a broken system

9. Why BJP leaders’ comments on study about Muslim population in India are misleading

10. ‘Modi wants to be king forever’: Why ordinary voters flocked to the Save Democracy rally in Delhi

Read the rest of our election coverage here. And become a Scroll Member today if you believe that the media should be a watchdog, not a lapdog.

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