Rajasthan Assembly Elections 2023: This 70-year-old labourer keeps fighting despite 30 defeats

In the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress won 99 seats while the BJP won 73 seats in the 200-member house.

Titar Singh, a Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) labourer, has been fighting one election or another since the mid-1980s. Despite over 30 defeats in various elections, Singh, who is over 70 years old, is all set to lock horns with the BJP and Congress heavyweights in the Karanpur Assembly constituency in Rajasthan.

According to reports, Singh does not declare any property.  No political party gives a ticket to Singh but he fills out the form every time as an independent candidate. “I have lost all elections but I keep my hopes alive,” Singh told PTI in 2019.

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According to Singh, no government helped him and his family. “I first contested in 1983 as no government took care of my family. They did not give us land for farming, I earned a livelihood as a labourer throughout my life,” Singh told News18. “I contest elections with the help of donations from local residents.” Singh does door-to-door canvassing with his friends.

Titar singh srikaranpur nirdlay akele dum lde pic.twitter.com/nuWGnNmI9k

— Rajan Gupta (@rajangupta066) November 2, 2023

Singh got 427 votes in 2013 and 653 votes in the 2018 assembly elections. According to News18, Singh got 3,924 votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls which resulted in the forfeiture of his security.

In 2018, people collected money and gave Singh Rs 5,000 for filing his nomination, according to DNA.

In the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress won 99 seats while the BJP won 73 seats in the 200-member house. Ashok Gehlot came to power with the support of BSP MLAs and independents. The state will go to polls on November 25 and the counting will be held on December 3.