Indore (Madhya Pradesh): "Not all battles are fought for victory. Some are fought to tell the world that someone was there on the battlefield." – Ravish Kumar.
This anecdote by senior journalist Kumar stands true for an independent candidate from Indore who has been struggling to emerge victorious for the past 35 years, losing 18 times.
Yet, he hasn't given up and is acing his game for the 19th time to give a strong fight to his opponents in the upcoming Lok Sabha Election 2024 commencing April 19.
Despite losing all 18 of his prior elections, Parmanand Tolani, the "Dhartipakad" of Indore, is ready to run in his 19th election. Furthermore, he plans to contest as an independent candidate in every future election until he wins.
Since the Lok Sabha election of 1989, real estate dealer Tolani has been an independent contender. Among his opponents in his first election was Sumitra Mahajan, a former speaker of the Lok Sabha. He has attempted to run for mayor, MLA, and MP over the years.
Up until 1988, Tolani's father contested every election. Tolani carried on the tradition after his passing by running in every election since 1989.
The senior citizen, as always, is optimistic about winning the assembly poll despite having few sources and coming from a non-political background. He has submitted his nomination to compete as an independent in the next assembly polls. According to Tolani, "hope is the last thing that one loses."
Even the grand old party of India, Congress, is struggling to contest the elections from the Indore Lok Sabha seat considering the strength and might of the independent candidate here.
Even though Tolani's security deposit has been confiscated and he is left with Rs 20,000 cash in hand and assets of total around Rs 20 lakh, his spirit is indomitable.
“Election is like a fever, which never cools down. The two people who inspired me in life to fight till I succeed are my father and Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. I always believe that I will win, whatever the final result”, Tolani said.
Tolani claimed that he bagged the highest number of votes compared to other independent candidates in Lok Sabha Election 2019. "If the BJP candidate from Indore, Shankar Lalwani, contests independently, he will not get even 200 votes," he added.
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