It is commonly said that winners make history, however, in case of a contestant in India, he scripted a place in Limca Book of Records for standing on the losing side every time he went for victory. The story is of a resident of Tamil Nadu’s Mettur, K Padmarajan who has contested elections in the country for 238 times and lost every single one of them till date. Despite losing lakhs of rupees, time and energy, he tried his luck and ran for various offices ranging from the President to the local polls.
Life of Padmarajan
First making his debut in the electoral fray in 1988, Padmarajan, 65, is known as ‘Election King’, despite scripting his name for losing the most number of elections in a lifetime. He has so far fought 238 elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be his 239th from Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu. He put up his best show in 2011 when he received a total of 6,273 votes while contesting from Mettur Assembly elections.
He lost so many times in the elections that his name found place in the Limca Book of Records as India’s most unsuccessful candidate.
Over the years he has lost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Spent lakhs of rupees in elections
In the Indian elections, every candidate has to deposit a certain amount which is forfeited if he does not get 16 per cent votes in the elections. Ever since Padmarajan started contesting the elections, he has spent lakhs of rupees. According to some reports, he has spent over Rs 1 crore so far in the elections.
Padmarajan in fray again in 2024
Despite failing 238 times in a bid for public office, Padmarajan is preparing yet again to contest in the Lok Sabha elections from April 19.
According to the reports, the people made fun of him when he threw his hat into the ring, but he wanted to prove that an ordinary man can contest elections.
He runs a tyre repair shop and also provides homoeopathic remedies and works as an editor for local media, according to reports.
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