The Election Commission has sought an explanation from Tej Bahadur Fauji for contradictory information in his nomination forms and affidavits — one filed on April 25 as an Independent and the other on Monday as the Samajwadi Party’s nominee from Varanasi.

The former BSF jawan, who was fired for protesting the poor quality of food, has to reply within 24 hours.

The SP had on Monday dumped Shalini Yadav, nominated earlier to contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and announced Fauji as its candidate. But the disparity in his papers puts Fauji in uncertainty.

The nomination form has a column where candidates have to mention if they had been removed from government service because of corruption or indiscipline. In the first form and affidavit, Fauji had written “yes” and mentioned the date as April 19, 2017, when action was taken against him.

In the second he has written “no” and enclosed an affidavit saying the “yes” in the previous form was a mistake. He said although he was sacked, it was not because of corruption or indiscipline, but did not mention the reason for the termination.