Battle for UP: This man will contest his 94th election

The Kheragarh Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh's Agra will witness a unique contestant -- 74-year-old Hasanuram Ambedkari, who is all set to contest his 94th election this time.

He has filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate.

Ambedkari said he works as a farm labour and has a MNREGA job card. He does not have any formal schooling, but can read and write Hindi, Urdu, and English.

A member of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) founded by Kanshi Ram, Ambedkari said that he fought all elections according to the ideology of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar.

He has been unsuccessfully contesting elections since 1985 for various bodies, including the Lok Sabha, state Assembly, and panchayat elections from different seats.

In 1988, his nomination for the post of the President of India was rejected.

He said, "I contest elections to lose. The winning politicians forget the masses. I want to set a record of losing elections 100 times. I do not care who my opponents are as I contest elections to give an option to voters who believe in Ambedkar's ideology."

Ambedkari contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri seats, but forfeited his deposit.

He fought the zila panchayat elections in 2021.

He secured the highest number of votes (36,000) in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections from the Firozabad seat.

Ambedkari has started door-to-door campaigning with his wife and supporters.

He said, "My agenda has always been impartial and corruption-free development and welfare of the marginalised in society.".

He was also briefly a member of the BSP as well. "I was a dedicated worker of BAMCEF and also worked for the BSP to strengthen its roots in UP. In 1985, when I asked for a ticket, I was ridiculed and told that not even my wife would vote for me. I was deeply disheartened and since then, I have been contesting every election as an independent candidate," he said.