K Padmarajan, the man who has contested in over 180 elections, will be in action once again

All eyes in Tamil Nadu are set on the upcoming by-elections that are to take place at the RK Nagar constituency - the seat that became vacant after the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha. The seat is being considered as a matter of life and death for the rival AIADMK factions while other parties try to make inroads into their bastion.

But amidst all this, K Padmarajan who labelled himself as the ‘All India Election King’ is preparing to contest in his 184th election at RK Nagar, where he has filed his nomination.

A native of Salem, Padmarajan runs his own tyre business along with providing homeopathic medicines to Sabarimala pilgrims. He has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records and the Limca Book of Records terms him as the ‘Most Unsuccessful Candidate’.

Padmarajan started his career as a ‘serial loser’ back in 1988 when he contested the Mettur assembly seat. He has since then contested in elections across the country from local elections to the Presidential elections. He has contested against bigwigs like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh, P V Narasimha Rao, Pranab Mukherjee, Pratibha Patil, K R Narayanan and A P J Abdul Kalam among others.

While he has never been a threat to any of his rivals, as he never even campaigns for himself, he too faced the darker side of India’s election process. According to a report in The Economic Times, while contesting against Narasimha Rao in 1991 he was attacked, kidnapped and forced to withdraw.

According to Padmarajan, he contests not with any big ambition, but to prove that even a common man can stand in elections that are held in the country.