The 'Election King of India' is set to contest his 184th election

NEW DELHI: A man who has unsuccessfully fought over 183 elections is getting ready to contest for the 184th time.

' Election King' Dr K Padmarajan, who even contested the last Presidential poll, has filed his nomination for the RK Nagar by-election in Tamil Nadu.

With a badge that says 'All India Election King' pinned on his khadi shirt, Salem resident Dr Padmarajan is always ready for any electoral battle.

His name figures in the Limca Book of Records and he was also recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004 for contesting more than 100 Indian elections.
In his 124th attempt, he contested the by-election for the assembly seat from Tiruchi, and received 430 votes as an independent candidate.
He never went canvassing, nor did he spend any money on election campaigning.

Instead, his motivation is proving democracy.Through the years, the homeopathy doctor has contested against many big-wigs.

Dr Padmarajan has contested against former presidents KR Narayanan, APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, and leaders like Manmohan Singh, AB Vajpayee, Jayalalithaa, M Karunanidhi, PV Narasimha Rao, AK Antony, K Karunakaran, GK Moopanar amd GK Vasan.

In 1991, he contested against PV Narasimha Rao, who was the Prime Minister of India at the time. Padmarajan was attacked, kidnapped and forced to withdraw, but nothing could hold him back.

The first election he contested was in 1988 as an independent candidate.