Popularly known as “Election King”, K Padmarajan from Tamil Nadu has filed his 237th nomination as an independent candidate from Telangana’s Gajwel constituency, the same seat from where Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will be contesting the November 30 polls.
Padmarajan remains undeterred by his earlier 236 defeats where he contested polls ranging from local bodies to presidential, spread across states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, as per a PTI report.
The sexagenarian who runs a tyre shop, said he started the marathon of filing nomination during 1988 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu from Mettur constituency and from then on, he has contested against former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and PV Narasimha Rao also.
Padmarajan, who calls himself a homoeopathic doctor said he has spent about Rs 1 crore towards his obsession and created several records with his passion for contesting in polls, the PTI report added.
ALSO READ: Telangana Elections: BJP Pits Lankala Deepak Reddy Against Azharuddin In 3rd List. Check All Names
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, he contested the polls against former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency.
“The highest votes I ever polled were over 6,273 in Mettur constituency in the 2011 Tamil Nadu assembly polls,” adding that he garnered zero votes in some panchayat elections.
As per his affidavit filed on November 4 with the Election Commission of India, neither Padmarajan nor any of his family members has ever filed Income Tax returns and declared Rs 1,10,000 worth movable assets, including a moped and annual income of Rs 1 lakh, according to the report.
His affidavit also stated that he studied up to class 8 and is pursuing MA (History) from Annamalai Open University.
The polls to 119-member Telangana Legislative Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 30 and the votes will be counted on December 3 along with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram.