Okay Padmarajan, a 65-year-old tyre restore store proprietor from Salem, Tamil Nadu, referred to as the ‘Election King,’ is as soon as once more coming into the political area, this time as a candidate from the Dharmapuri constituency.
Padmarajan has a rare monitor document of contesting elections, having participated in a staggering 238 elections, together with Panchayat elections and even Presidential elections, however has by no means received.
Regardless of his quite a few defeats, Padmarajan stays undeterred, believing that in a democracy, everybody ought to have the chance to contest elections. His persistence has earned him recognition within the Limca E-book of Information, Asia E-book of Information, and Delhi E-book of Information as probably the most unsuccessful candidate in electoral historical past.
“Till now, I’ve contested towards Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PV Narasimha Rao, J Jayalalithaa, M Karunanidhi, AK Antony, Vayalar Ravi, BS Yediyurappa, S Bangarappa, SM Krishna, Vijay Mallya, Sadananda Gowda and Anbumani Ramadoss. I’ve contested within the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections for a complete of six instances as nicely. I do not need to win, however solely to lose, as you may style victory for less than a sure time, however you may bore loss ceaselessly,” he mentioned.
Having spent roughly Rs 1 crore on election bills, Padmarajan stays dedicated to his trigger, utilizing the earnings from his tyre restore store to fund his marketing campaign.
Even a kidnapping incident in Andhra Pradesh in 1991, whereas contesting towards Narasimha Rao, didn’t dampen Padmarajan’s spirit, as he continues to advocate for higher consciousness in regards to the democratic course of.
