For the past 40 years, he has been in the business of facilitating identity and other documents for people. At 61, Jeevan Kumar Mittal is now trying his luck at forging a new identity for himself — that as the first citizen of the country.
Five days ago, much before the ruling party or the Opposition declared their candidates, Mr. Mittal had thrown his hat into the presidential election ring.
“I am not fighting, I am participating,” says the man in a tiny office near Milan Cinema in Moti Nagar. His measured words indicate his realistic approach about his prospects of shifting to the sprawling Raisina Hill bungalow.
Over 1,500 letters — that’s how many times he claims to have written to the President in the past five years. Each of these letters were on a different issue, the most recent being posted on Tuesday. In the latest letter, he had complained about officials writing his name in English in the candidature form for presidency.
When asked why he wanted to contest the presidential elections which he will in all likelihood lose, his explanation was “disillusionment with successive governments on all issues”. When asked if he was doing it for publicity, he simply said “no”.
Previous application
During the course of conversation, he opens up a bit more and talks about the last time his candidature was rejected — in 2012. However, he says, it only made him more determined this time. Mr. Mittal adds that it was part of the reason he wrote to the President so often.
“I was aware that all I needed was proof that I was a voter. My voter ID card and a copy of the electoral rolls from the website weren’t enough for the Rajya Sabha General Secretary. He told me that I needed a letter from the local election officer, which I could not arrange. Soon after that I wrote my first letter on the same issue. This time, I was prepared and successfully filled the nomination form on June 15,” says Mr. Mittal.
For almost everyone, a loss and forfeit of the deposit is likely a foregone conclusion. But what if there is a miracle and he upsets everyone?
‘Chatur baniya’
“Then I will be sure that my concerns are forwarded to the correct Ministry. I am sure the current President does it when I write to him. If I do it, I can surely bring about a change,” he says.
Asked if contesting for MP or MLA post could have helped with the changes he wishes to see, he says he is a man who thinks “high”.
He adds that he has complete support of his wife and three children. One of the first things that Mr. Mittal, a commerce graduate from DU, tells about himself is his caste. “I am a baniya and I am sure the government would like to call me a chatur baniya,” he says.
A regular visitor to Parliament House close to Rashtrapati Bhawan for causes that he wants to highlight, Mr. Mittal thinks the distance is walkable. This time, however, he may need much more than the proverbial giant leap.