Contesting the elections is no easy task – one needs a certain charisma to woo the constituents and enough money to ensure that the charisma reaches every corner that one initially intended to.
While 51-year-old advocate from Muzaffarnagar, Mange Ram Kashyap may have a charismatic personality, his pockets are comepletely dry.
In the election affdavit which he submitted recently, Kashyap declared that he has no jewellery, no cash, and zero money in his bank account.
According to Navbharat Times, his wife, Babita Chauhan also has no cash, jewellery, and has zero balance in her bank account. However, Kashyap does own a 100sq yard plot which has been valued at ₹5 lakh and a house with an estimated value of ₹15 lakh. The house was a gift from Kashyap’s in-laws. Among other assets is a bike worth ₹36,000.
With no cash and zero bank balance, Kashyap is perhaps the poorest candidate in the fray in this Lok Sabha election.
According to The Times of India, Kashyap has fought all of the general elections since 2000.
He contests elections from a party named Mazdoor Kisan Union Party which he himself founded in 2000. The party has 1,000 odd members who are mostly labourers.
Even though he hasn’t won any election yet, he has been going strong with his campaigning in the city.
He resorts to walk on foot in the city as he cannot afford petrol.
In an interview with The Times of India, he said,
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.
However, Kashyap doesn’t dread the long walks as it helps him connect to the voters.
In this regard he further said,
In the last election 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.
In the last election 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 the welfare of people.
The numerous setbacks haven’t yet broken his resolve as he is all prepared to tackle the heavyweights in his constituency in the 2019 elections.