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Shoeshine boy aims for Lok Sabha

THANE (MAHARASHTRA), APRIL 13. After shining boots of millions of people with a brisk sleight of his hand, he is now all set to shine his own political fortunes.

Meet the 31-year-old shoe shine man from Kalyan railway station, Ramsingh Ukhaji Siras, who has decided to take over the political titans, Prakash Paranjpe of Shiv Sena and Vasant Dawkhare of NCP by filing his nominations as an independent candidate from Thane parliamentary constituency.

A school drop-out, Ramsingh began to work as a shoeshine boy from the age of twelve. A resident of Ulhasnagar, he took interest in politics about five years back and joined the then newly formed party NCP.

Coincidentally, Ramsingh whose work place is a railway station, has received `railway engine' as his election symbol. He plans to campaign in all the six assembly constituencies of Thane Lok Sabha Constituency.

Ramsingh, who had joined NCP earlier to serve the people of Ulhasnagar and Kalyan, was elected a leader for the `jopadapatti niwasi' for the national party in Ulhasnagar five years back.

He also took keen interest in ensuring the victory of an NCP candidate for the Ulhasnagar municipality. However, on March 26 this year, he left the national party and decided to contest as an independent candidate.

When asked whether there was pressure from his opponents to withdraw his nomination, Ramsingh told PTI: ``Twice during the last weekend, few unknown persons came to threaten me and asked me to withdraw my nomination.''

``I told them, at any cost I will not withdraw from contesting,'' Ramsingh said adding ``now that I got engine as my symbol, that portays importance of my `karma bhoomi', I am really very happy.''

Ramsingh, who has a 20-point programme in his manifesto-- national issues to local issues, would undertake door-to-door campaign instead of a `rath' yatra.

``Since I do not have money for massive campaigning like big parties, whatever help I receive from my friends, I will bring out small pamphlets with my 20-point programme'', Ramsingh said.

Some of his programmes in the manifesto include primary and secondary education for the needy, employment for youth, 50 per cent reservation for women in Parliament, free railway pass for those private employees working in railway platforms throughout the country, compensation up to Rs 2 lakh to the families of these employees when they die during work, changing name of Ulhasnagar to Sindhnagar, benefits for 30 per cent Marathi population in the 70 per cent Sindhi dominated Ulhasnagar.

The manifesto also include a Railway Terminus at Thane and a five-star hotel and a super-speciality hospital in Ram Janmabhoomi at Ayodhya.

PTI

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