Independent candidates, a motley group who enliven election proceedings

When filing of nominations for the Vellore Lok Sabha poll started on Thursday, there were four independents who submitted their papers – each attracting attention with unique quirks.

There was Manithan (50) from Agravaram near Natramapalli in Vellore district, who came dressed in a cassock like outfit and walked backward to file his papers. So far, he has filed nominations for 50 elections. When he handed over the deposit amount by way of a cheque, collector A Shanmugasundaram, the district election officer, refused to accept it as only cash was allowed. Manithan handed over his nomination and left promising to return later with cash.

Another was T Ramesh (39) of West Balapatti in Namakkal district, who came to file his nomination dressed as Gandhi, because, he said, he lived by the principles espoused by the father of the nation.

Among the most popular faces who filed nomination was ‘election king’ K Padmarajan of Mettur in Salem. This was the 204th time he was filing nomination, having participated in all category of polls, including even the presidential election.

On Friday, when three independents filed nominations, the candidate who attracted the most attention was A Noor Mohammed of Coimbatore: the man came on horseback, dressed in a white kurta pyjama, yellow shawl and yellow turban. Talking to the media, he said he hired a horse for Rs 2,500 to highlight the fact that it was the people who were the kings in this country (elaarum inaatu mannargal).

According to him, he has so far filed papers for 32 polls. His different attire and unique mode of transport drew the attention away from two other independents, who too had filed nominations the same day – P Rashid Mohammed of Pernambut and M Subramanian of Vellore.