(Mettur) Despite his 238 electoral defeats, the Indian K. Padmarajan, at 65, says he is “happy” to prepare his campaign with the certainty of losing in the next legislative elections of the largest democracy in the world which will begin on April 19 for six weeks.
Owner of a tire repair shop, K. Padmarajan first ran as an independent candidate in elections in 1988 in Mettur, his hometown in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
People laughed when he threw himself into battle. Without allegiance to any party, he replied that he wanted to prove that an ordinary man could enter politics.
“All the candidates are looking for victory in the elections,” he told AFP between his large mustaches, a flamboyant stole falling over his shoulder. ” Not me ! », he asserts in the manner of Pierre de Coubertin, the important thing for him being to participate, “victory is secondary”. And at the time of inevitable defeat, he persists in saying that he is “happy to lose”.
This year, he is contesting for an MP seat in Tamil Nadu’s Dharmapuri district. Nicknamed the “King of Elections,” he tried his luck, from the presidential election to local elections all over the country.
He lost to several prime ministers, including Narendra Modi, Atal Bihar Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. He was also defeated by Congress candidate Rahul Gandhi.
” I do not care ”
“Who is the candidate opposite? I do not care. » His main concern now is to continue his unusual collection of defeats. Even if they cost him dearly.
He estimates he has spent thousands of dollars over more than three decades. A security deposit of 25,000 rupees ($300) was required for his current election participation, which will not be refunded unless he wins more than 16 percent of the vote.
His only triumph is to have managed to win the title of unluckiest Indian candidate approved by the Limca book of Records broken in India.
Mr. Padmarajan’s best performance was in the Mettur legislative elections in 2011, where he won 6,237 votes. The winner got more than 75,000.
“I expected not to win any,” he remembers, “that proves that people accept me.”
In addition to his tire repair shop, K. Padmarajan deals in homeopathic products and works as an editor in the local press.
But the electoral battle is the most important of all his activities, he assures, “it’s a question of commitment”.
“People are hesitant to apply. I want to serve as a model, to raise awareness,” continues the man who seems devoid of any electoral program.
“Miss better”
Mr. Padmarajan scrupulously keeps all the elements of his multiple candidacies, keeping in archive all his electoral cards, duly laminated, which bear witness to his political failures. They are decorated with different symbols that he chose in each campaign: a fish, a ring, a hat, a telephone and this year, tires.
Once mocked, Mr. Padmarajan is now invited to speak about resilience in front of students, speaking on how to cope with defeat. “I don’t think about winning. Failure is better,” he emphasizes, this time in the manner of Samuel Beckett and his famous phrase “fail again. Miss better.” “In such a state of mind, there is no stress,” explains the candidate.
Mr. Padmarajan carries a lesson in democracy, at a time when it seems to be weakening in India according to a survey published in February by the Pew Research Center revealing that 67% of Indians, compared to 48% in 2017, estimated in 2023 that an autocracy is a better system than a representative democracy.
Rights defenders denounce several criminal investigations targeting opposition leaders, and believe that Mr. Modi’s government is exploiting justice for political ends. Also, for Mr. Padmarajan, it is more important than ever that every citizen of the country goes to vote.
“It’s their right, they must vote. In this regard, there is neither victory nor defeat,” he judges, assuring that he would be a candidate in the country’s elections until his last breath. What if he wins one day? “I’d have a heart attack,” he jokes.
reference: www.lapresse.ca