K Padmarajan has lost as many as 168 elections till now! In his 169th nomination, he will be contesting against – (wait for it) – Tamil Nadu’s chief Minister – J Jayalalithaa! This is the third time he is contesting against Jayalalithaa, earlier he has contested in 1996 and 2002.
In the 2014 elections, he wanted to contest against Narendra Modi, but his nomination was rejected. With no political affiliations, he contests the elections as an independent candidate.
His other high-profile opponents included President Pranab Mukherjee, former presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, former prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, late Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran and former Union minister A K Antony!
Image courtesy: LinkedIn | news.com.au
Padmarajan doesn’t spend any money for campaigning, but his nominations has cost him about Rs 20 lakhs so far. He says he has been contesting to prove that common people can contest the elections too, not just those in power. But says, “Anyone can contest in any election but only those who have money can win.”
But this does not deter him from not taking part in the elections and believes that “Results don’t matter.”Padmarajan has been crowned the ‘most unsuccessful candidate in elections in the world’ by the Limca Book of Records for three years – 2004, 2014 and 2015. And, he wants to retain that title and hence will continue contesting elections.
Image courtesy: scmp.com
K Padmarajan once repaired tyres for a living. He is also a homoeopathy practitioner, and has become the owner of a flourishing tyre business. But, he is more popular as the ‘Election King.’
Well, for once we need to wish someone to keep the losing streak going so that he can retain the title and more importantly a message that – ordinary citizens can take on those in power!
