Kusheshwar Bhagat, 48, has been running a ‘ pav bhaji ’ stall off Jharsa Road in Part-II of Sector 15 here for more than a decade now. But don’t mistake him for an ordinary street food vendor by the roadside.
One of the seven Independent contestants in the fray for the Lok Sabha election in Gurugram, Mr. Bhagat is contesting for the third consecutive time from this parliamentary constituency. He fought two Vidhan Sabha elections earlier. But could never save his deposit.
Voters disillusioned
“I polled 7,821 votes in 2014 LS election, the highest so far in the four elections,” says Mr. Bhagat, who has moveable assets of around ₹2.5 lakh, besides a Nano car and a house in Delhi. “The voters seem disillusioned with all parties this time. I hope to get around 3 lakh votes... they will vote me to power one day,” says Mr. Bhagat, contesting on the plank of health and education to all.
Like him, affordable health and education, development, agrarian crisis, corruption and unemployment are high on the agenda of the Independent candidates in Gurugram. Pawan Kumar, 34, a resident of Gurugram, says he decided to fight the election to raise his voice against lack of jobs and the plight of government schools. “The local youth are not getting employed in the industries in the area. The government schools are in a pitiable condition. Farmers are in distress and the soldiers are dying,” says Mr. Pawan, a graduate, claiming the support of a dozen villages. He says his election symbol, a bucket, will help him strike an instant chord with the voters. He hopes to win with a margin of around one lakh votes.
A mini-world
Bikaner’s Virender, who claims to have contested five Rajasthan Assembly elections, says that Gurugram is a mini-world with people having come and settled from across the globe. He wants to make it a truly “Millennium City”.
Sudesh Kumar of Pataudi, a Scheduled Caste, took the plunge to prepare for the Assembly election later this year. Self-employed, Mr. Sudesh says this Lok Sabha election is a “mock test” for him as he wants to acquaint himself with the election process.
Most of these Independent candidates, coming from humble backgrounds, are contesting on shoestring budgets with little money to spare for the canvassing. Mr. Pawan says he is yet to get his campaign material printed and has sought financial support from his father and relatives. He carries his visiting card along and distributes it during his door-to-door campaign.
Mr. Bhagat says he spent around ₹15,000 on his campaign in the previous election, but this time he is pinning his hopes on the free publicity through the media. “Every day an article is carried on me in the newspapers. It is enough publicity.I need not spend much on the campaign this time.” says Kusheshwar.
Mr. Virender says that he will reach the voters through door-to-door campaign, distributing handbills and send text messages. Mr. Sudesh is active on all popular social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, and updates all his canvassing pictures online for the maximum reach.
