JAIPUR: Age is no bar and poverty no hindrance for 78-year-old Titar Singh, a daily-wager contesting the Rajasthan elections for the 32nd time. Despite losing in 31 polls and earning barely Rs 255 a day, Singh is confident of winning people’s hearts and their votes.
“Making me win is the people’s choice. If they want to see me as their representative, they will vote for me.I will continue fighting elections as they are not restricted to any party or people. Even common people can step into politics. I stand for the poor and unrepresented people,” said Titar who soldiers on despite losing deposits in every election.
This time, he is in the fray for the November 25 polls as an independent from Karanpur constituency in Sriganganagar district. According to his election affidavit, Singh hails from Gulabewala village in Karanpur and all he has as assets is Rs 2500 — that, too, as cash with his wife. He used it to file his nomination.
“No government understands the plight of the poor. They take us and our issues lightly. Hence, I decided to fight each time. This is a challenge to governments that underestimate the power of the common people,” he said.
Singh has not had formal schooling, only adult education, and his survival depends on wages from the government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. His children are married and, like him, all MNREGA daily-wagers.
“We do not own any land or property. But we are able to survive and get going with our lives. We haven’t faced any financial issues despite losing deposits so many times,” Singh said.
He fought his first election in 1970 and has contested several Lok Sabha, assembly and panchayat elections since then. Asked what keeps him going, Titar replied that it was the large parties’ “indifference” to the poor.
“BJP and Congress governments have always been here, but never mattered. They never helped us or did anything for us. They always backed out when it came to helping the poor and we continue to struggle for our rights. If the rich have any issues, it is resolved within a short time. But we, the poor people, have to make multiple rounds of government offices,” Singh alleged.
Asked about his chances, Singh remarked that his hopes rest on the “voters thinking wisely this time”. “I want them to get land and the government to help us. There are many families — more than two or three generations — who are living without any land, property or money,” Singh said.
“Making me win is the people’s choice. If they want to see me as their representative, they will vote for me.I will continue fighting elections as they are not restricted to any party or people. Even common people can step into politics. I stand for the poor and unrepresented people,” said Titar who soldiers on despite losing deposits in every election.
This time, he is in the fray for the November 25 polls as an independent from Karanpur constituency in Sriganganagar district. According to his election affidavit, Singh hails from Gulabewala village in Karanpur and all he has as assets is Rs 2500 — that, too, as cash with his wife. He used it to file his nomination.
“No government understands the plight of the poor. They take us and our issues lightly. Hence, I decided to fight each time. This is a challenge to governments that underestimate the power of the common people,” he said.
Singh has not had formal schooling, only adult education, and his survival depends on wages from the government’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. His children are married and, like him, all MNREGA daily-wagers.
“We do not own any land or property. But we are able to survive and get going with our lives. We haven’t faced any financial issues despite losing deposits so many times,” Singh said.
He fought his first election in 1970 and has contested several Lok Sabha, assembly and panchayat elections since then. Asked what keeps him going, Titar replied that it was the large parties’ “indifference” to the poor.
“BJP and Congress governments have always been here, but never mattered. They never helped us or did anything for us. They always backed out when it came to helping the poor and we continue to struggle for our rights. If the rich have any issues, it is resolved within a short time. But we, the poor people, have to make multiple rounds of government offices,” Singh alleged.
Asked about his chances, Singh remarked that his hopes rest on the “voters thinking wisely this time”. “I want them to get land and the government to help us. There are many families — more than two or three generations — who are living without any land, property or money,” Singh said.