UP vendors campaign in handcart
Unique way
Among the numerous high profile contestants, who have been campaigning in luxury vehicles, 55-year-old Virendra Prasad alias Niranjan certainly looks like the ‘odd man out’ with his handcart.
His vehicle may be slow, but his zeal and enthusiasm to serve the people remains as fresh as ever.
Virendra, a roadside vendor who sells fruits on a handcart, is contesting as an independent candidate from Barhaj Assembly constituency in UP’s backward Deoria district, about 325-kms from here.
For him, his handcart is the best vehicle for election campaign.
Seeing his style of campaigning, one may think that he is not serious about contesting the election, but the truth lies deep inside. Virendra is a veteran as far as contesting elections is concerned. “This is my seventh election….I have been contesting elections since 1992’’, he says.
He had filed nomination papers to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha polls also but his papers were rejected as he failed to furnish account of the expenditure incurred in 2007 Assembly elections.
“I have the experience of contesting for the village pradhan’s post up to Lok Sabha’’, he says.
Hoards of people surround Virendra and his handcart wherever he goes. He’s accompanied by his three children and a donation box. “I have no money for campaigning, so I seek contributions from people’’, he says.
Though donations do pour in from his well- wishers, but the collection of money isn’t enough, he claims. Virendra said that he had sold one of his handcarts and also took loans to meet the expenses of the campaigns.
Undeterred
Undeterred by financial crisis, Virendra, who spends nights in different villages as part of his campaigning programme, wants to send a message across that one can win the polls even without spending huge amount of money.
