Contesting elections for nearly 3 decades in MP, tea seller enters the fray on BSP ticket from Gwalior

He has contested elections since 1994 from municipal to Lok Sabha polls and this is the 28th time that he has filed his nomination. This time, he is contesting from Gwalior East Assembly seat on a BSP ticket.

Gwalior:A tea seller from Gwalior is contesting at the upcoming Assembly polls and this is his 28th attempt. Anand Singh Kushwaha filed his nomination from Gwalior East Assembly seat on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket today.

He reached the Collectorate office on a bicycle wearing a blue cap, blue dress and blue shoes. He is extremely passionate about contesting the elections and has so far contested 27 times from municipal to Lok Sabha polls but has been defeated every time. Despite this, whenever its time for an election in Madhya Pradesh, he makes it a point to give it his best shot.

Kushwaha said when a tea seller can become the Prime Minister then he can surely become an MP or MLA. "That is the reason why I always contest the polls and am hopeful that some day I will be elected," he said. Kushwaha has been contesting elections since 1994 but has never won.

On Thursday, Kushwaha reached the Collectorate office for the 28th time to file his nomination. Kushwaha, who came on a bicycle dressed in blue said he will go to the common people on issues namely unemployment, inflation and employment.

He said that unlike the heavyweight leaders who use luxury vehicles during campaigning, he will go door to door asking for votes riding a bicycle. Speaking to ETV Bharat about his passion for contesting polls, Kushwaha said that in the past he had a dispute with his community leader and former state minister Narayan Singh Kushwaha during the councilor election. At that time, both Narayan Singh Kushwaha and he had fought on the same issue. Though he lost, he decided to take revenge by contesting every time.

Since then, Kushwaha has been contesting all the polls. Despite spending almost three decades in electoral politics, he has no wins. Now, he has geared up to contest from Gwalior East seat and is fighting as a BSP candidate.