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Carrying hopes on his bicycle, utensil vendor all set to contest his 12th poll
He roams around his constituency on his bicycle, meeting people at their doorstep with a banner saying, ‘One home, one vote.’
PRAYAGRAJ: In what could be described as the essence of democracy, a utensil seller, dreaming of becoming an MLA or MP, peddling his wares door-to-door on a bicycle, is all set to contest his 12th election. Following his passion for electoral participation, Chhedu, 50, will file his papers for the Kaushambi Lok Sabha seat.
Chhedu, a Dalit, has contested 11 elections so far, including both Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections over the last 24 years. However, his only victory came when he became a BDC member in 2002.
He is enthusiastic about filing nominations and canvassing for himself all alone on his bicycle. In every election, Chhedu repeats his slogans, asking for votes. He roams around his constituency on his bicycle, meeting people at their doorstep with a banner saying, ‘One home, one vote.’
A resident of Taibapur in Sirathu Tehsil, Chhedu lives in a mud house and owns no agricultural lands or any other property, as shown in his affidavit filed during the 2022 Vidhan Sabha polls when he contested from the Sirathu constituency.
He started contesting elections in 2001 and defeated his uncle with 195 votes in the regional panchayat polls. In 2006. He then contested for BDC member polls and zila panchayat polls in 2011 but lost. In 2012, Chhedu contested polls from the Sirathu Vidhan Sabha followed by Lok Sabha polls in 2014, where he received 3,340 votes. He also filed a nomination for Vidhan Sabha by-polls in the same year. He again contested Vidhan Sabha polls in 2017 from the same seat and Lok Sabha elections in 2019, receiving 3,566 votes. However, he lost all elections by huge margins.
Moreover, Chhedu even fielded his wife, Urmila Devi, in the 2006 and 2015 zila panchayat polls, but she too failed to gain victory. Urmila never contested elections again, but Chhedu has not lost hope of becoming an MLA or MP in the future. Despite being poor and having no agricultural lands, he saves money to contes polls.
“I have no other addiction except contesting elections. I do not spend extravagantly and use my cycle for canvassing in my constituency. Despite losing elections continuously, I have not lost hope of becoming an MP or MLA one day,” Chhedu said.
