The Hindu : A David who takes on Goliaths

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004

National

National - Elections 2004

A David who takes on Goliaths

Come general elections and K.Padmarajan is all girded up for battle. Mr. Padmarajan, a resident of Mettur in Tamil Nadu, is getting ready to take on the Prime Minister, A.B.Vajpayee, in Lucknow and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) candidate, Senthil, in Dharmapuri, in the upcoming elections.

Mr.Padmarajan, who has set a record of sorts by contesting 62 times, takes fighting elections against VIPs seriously. His adversaries have included the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President, K.R.Narayanan, the former Prime Minister, P.V.Narasimha Rao, and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa. A homeopath, businessman and journalist all rolled into one, Mr. Padmarajan was in Thiruvananthapuram to file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha seat that has fallen vacant from Kerala. He had a tough time getting the Legislature Secretary, K.R.Udayabhanu, accept his nomination. The papers were first rejected, but he managed to secure an audience with Mr. Udayabhanu, following which the latter agreed to receive his papers. However, Mr Udayabhanu later issued a note saying that the nomination was prima facie defective and incomplete as the candidature had not been proposed by 10 MLAs.

Mr. Padmarajan was however satisfied that he could at least register his presence in the election arena. "I'm used to having my nomination rejected. I have filed nominations to contest against many VIPs including the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. There were no hitches in filing the papers. I knew that they would be rejected and the deposit refunded after scrutiny. But this time round, when I was denied the chance even to submit the papers, I was taken aback," Mr. Padmarajan said.

Padmarajan says he keeps contesting elections to create public awareness against the monopoly of political parties in wielding power.

"The seat of power, be it the Assembly or Parliament, should be accessible to all. I am a representative of the man on the street and my symbolic contests are to confirm the rights and privileges of the poor," he said.

Dressed in a white dhoti and spotless khadi shirt sporting a badge that describes him as the `All India Election King', Mr. Padmarajan says he is not ready to give up. He has an aversion to politicians, but continues to pit himself against political heavyweights. For him, these contests are not gimmicks to hog the limelight but the easiest way to prove the point that the common man is being denied his due. Padmarajan, who claims to have spent Rs.5.5 lakhs so far on election expenses, put up his best performance in the 1997 Lok Sabha elections when he contested against the LDF candidate, Sebastian Paul, in Ernakulam.

Mr. Padmarajan has his roots in Kerala. His father, K.Kunjambu Nair and mother, K. Sridevi Nair, belong to Kannur, but he has settled at Mettur in Salem district where he runs a tyre retreading unit. He claims to be a reporter of a Tamil newspaper, `Kaalaipuratchi'. Padmarajan says he could not pursue the medical profession or journalism for "want of time", but when it comes to elections, he seems to have plenty of it.

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