Samajwadi Party candidate from Ballia Lok Sabha seat, Sanatan Pandey, has been booked for allegedly spreading enmity, hatred, and animosity among different sections of society and threatening the District Election Officer, according to Superintendent of Police Dev Ranjan Verma. An FIR has been lodged against Pandey under Section 171 F of the IPC (exercising undue influence in elections), 189 (threatening a public servant), 186 (obstructing a public servant in public work), 505 (2) (spreading hatred and animosity between different groups), and sections 125 and 136 of the Representation of the People Act 1950. The complaint was filed by Sub Inspector Makhan Singh in Ballia city. Pandey’s remarks about the tenure and works of the present government on April 27 led to the accusations. Pandey lost the Lok Sabha elections 2019 to the BJP’s Virendra Singh Mast. Voting for Ballia will take place in the seventh phase on June 1.