72-yr-old crusader to contest 22nd election
To say that Titar Singh is a battle-hardened veteran is an understatement.
To say that Titar Singh is a battle-hardened veteran is an understatement.
At 72, Singh will be contesting his 22nd election in a few weeks, yet another step in his never-ending quest for justice for the downtrodden.
He is among a select few in the country who have been contesting elections year after year, not just to become an MP or MLA.
On Thursday, Singh filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate for the Ganganagar Lok Sabha seat.
His fight for justice, Singh said, started 40 years ago when he had asked the government to allot land to landless Dalits.
The government, he said, did give land but only to prosperous landlords. "The poor Dalits were left high and day," he said.
This prompted him to contest elections with the hope that he would win and provide justice to the downtrodden.
He is, however, yet to win a single election.
Singh said that leaders make tall promises at the time of contesting elections but forget all after the polls.
So far, Singh has contested 8 assembly and parliamentary polls each besides panchayat electons.
In the recently-held assembly elections he had tried his luck from Srikaranpur seat.
This time he is contesting his 9th parliamentary elections from Ganganagar constituency.
Forfeiture of deposit in each and every election has not discouraged him a bit at all.
To make both ends meet, he works as a labourer under NREGA and collects money for canvassing and campaigning.
In his declared assets, Singh has showed Rs 1000 in cash in hand and Rs 500 in bank account.
His wife does not have cash nor any bank account.
On a plot of 2000 sq feet, he has constructed a house of 240 sq feet the total value of which amounts to just Rs 40,000.