With Zero Balance In Account, Meet Country's Poorest Contestant For 2019 Polls

With no cash and zero balance in his bank account and his wife¡¯s, a 51-year-old advocate from Muzaffarnagar constituency is perhaps the poorest candidate in the fray in this Lok Sabha election.

At first glance, there is little to differentiate Mange Ram Kashyap from several other advocates clad in black robes that crowd the Muzaffarnagar court on a daily basis. But ask anybody in the premises and they would tell you that Mange Ram is also a neta who has fought all of the general elections since 2000. Mange Ram contests elections from a party named Mazdoor Kisan Union Party which he founded in 2000. The party has 1,000-odd members, most of them labourers, according to Mange Ram.

In his election affidavit submitted recently, Mange Ram has declared that he has no jewellery, no cash and zero money in his bank account. His wife, Babita Chauhan, also has no cash, no jewellery and no money in her bank account. He does own a 100sq yard plot now valued at Rs 5 lakh and a house built on 60sq yard with an estimated current value of Rs 15 lakh. The house is a gift from Mange Ram¡¯s in-laws. He also owns a bike worth Rs 36,000.

While his political dreams may be taking a long time to materialize, it has done little to deter Mange Ram from campaigning on foot in the city. ¡°I have a bike but I cannot afford petrol for it every day. My wife is a home maker and we have two kids to take care of. I have tried to find other jobs but there are hardly any,¡± he told TOI.

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Mange Ram said he doesn¡¯t mind long walks through the city as it helps him connect to the voters. ¡°In the last elections as well, I went on foot to appeal to people to vote for me. I wonder why big politicians spend so much on campaigning when that money could be used for welfare of people,¡± he said.

But has his door-to-door campaign worked its charm on the voters in the past? The candidate has had to forfeit his deposit every single time as he was unable to secure the minimum number of votes.

Mange Ram is, however, convinced that things will change for the better this year for him. He is also unfazed that he is pitted against heavyweights like BJP¡¯s Sanjeev Baliyan, Ajit Singh fielded by SP-BSP-RLD¡¯s alliance and Congress¡¯ Narendra Kumar.

¡°Voters know that politicians have not looked out for them. I will help the poor. I will propose a voter pension scheme so no man is in want of money,¡± he said.