Karnataka polls: Most unsuccessful candidate, stands in his 234th election against CM Basavaraj Bommai

BENGALURU: Standing for election in his 234th hustings, K Padmarajan will be contesting as an independent from Shiggaon against Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai at the May 10 assembly elections.
Contesting for the sake of contesting, Padmarajan, who has been filing his candidatures since 1988, is a native of Mettur from Salem. He filed his papers on Thursday in Bengaluru.
He has contested in almost all general elections-- Assembly or Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha-- against top leaders, including former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh and former Tamil Nadu CMs like Karunanidhi and J Jayalalitha.
Though he runs his own business of fixing flat tyres of vehicles in Mettur, Padmarajan claims he is a homeopathic doctor and has been keen on making his mark by reaffirming the dubious distinction of “the most unsuccessful candidate” in Indian democracy. He has already been recognised as one by entering the Limca Book of Records.
“It is just my way of earning the affection of the people and the publicity which comes along with it. I am a small man who can never win against giants,” admits Padmarajan.
A Malayali settled in Mettur, Padmarajan says his biggest claim to fame is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections against the now disqualified Waynad MP and former AICC president Rahul Gandhi.
“I managed to win 1,890 votes in the elections just because of my name as the most unsuccessful candidate,” he said, claiming he has spent Rs 1 crore till date towards paying the Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per election contest deposit while filing nominations.
Padmarajan has a wife and son, an MBA graduate and has set up his outlet of Digital Seva Kendra in Mettur itself.