Tamil Nadu’s K Padmarajan, who proudly calls himself the “Election King”, goes around appealing to voters not to cast votes for him. Guess why? The 65-year-old tyre repair shop owner finds his name registered in the Limca Book of Records for being the “most unsuccessful candidate”.
He also finds pride in his entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for being a candidate with most contested elections. He claims that he has so far lost Rs 80 lakh in security deposits, which get forfeited every time he loses an election, besides expenses for filing nominations, in a grand way.
Padmarajan is gearing up for his 239th attempt as he filed his nomination for the 18th Lok Sabha elections from Thrissur in Kerala and Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu.
“I began fighting elections in 1988 from my hometown of Mettur, located in Tamil Nadu. I have contested 238 elections so far, including against former prime ministers Atal Bihar Vajpayee, P V Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh. This will be my 239th attempt. I pick a unique battle every time,” he told news agency PTI.
When asked about his campaign plans, Padmarajan said, “I ask people not to vote for me. I don’t want the votes, but I want to continue to hold the tag of the most unsuccessful candidate. I don’t campaign, but when I go for filing nomination, I do that in a grand way.”
Padmarajan has contested against veteran politicians, including former chief ministers like Jayalalitha, M Karunanidhi, YSR Reddy, and AK Antony. Not just politicians, he has also contested against actors Hema Malini and Vijayakanth.