Indore:

Parmanand Tolani filed his nomination from the Indore Lok Sabha seat on Thursday and despite losing his security deposit every time, he remained keen to campaign hence the name ‘Indori Dhartipakad’ .

The 63-year-old real estate businessman, who filed his nomination as an independent candidate, said he believed he would emerge victorious one day and that poll defeats would not put him in trouble.

The fourth phase of voting will be held on May 13 in the Indore constituency.

“I will be contesting elections for the 20th time. I have lost my deposit 19 times in different elections in the past 35 years,” Parmanand Tolani told reporters.

The Election Commission has stipulated that every candidate contesting in Assembly or Assembly elections must pay a certain amount of deposit, currently Rs 25,000 for the general category and Rs 12,500 for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. Under the rules, those who fail to secure at least one-sixth of the valid votes will lose their deposit.

The campaign veteran claims that besides trying his luck in the polls three times, he has contested eight times each in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

He said he once sent his wife, Laxmi Tolani, to contest the mayoralty in a referendum when the post was reserved for female candidates.

“I don’t mind losing deposits every time in elections. I have full faith in the voters of Indore. If not today, then tomorrow they will definitely ensure my victory,” he said.

Parmanand Tolani said he has been carrying on the family tradition of contesting elections. He said his father, Metharam Tolani, runs a printing shop in the city and has been contesting in different elections for 30 years.

Parmanand Tolani said he started campaigning in 1989 after his father died in 1988.

In the 2019 general election, Parmanand Tolani ran for the Indore seat as an independent candidate and received 1,233 votes. The winner was Shankar Lalwani of the BJP, who polled 1.06 million votes.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)