Chandigarh:
Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate who does not hesitate to brandish his humble origin, has become a role-model for this 73-year-old cobbler from Hoshiarpur, who has entered the race for the Lok Sabha polls as an independent candidate.
"If Narendra Modi, a chai wala (tea-seller) can contest for the prime ministerial post, why cannot I contest the parliamentary election?" argues Om Prakash Jhakku, who runs a small shop in Hoshiarpur's Kotwali Bazar.
Mr Jhakku is busy these days going around the constituency on a scooter gifted by his grandson. This is not the first time he is fighting an election. He is a veteran of 16 electoral battles, but has been unlucky each time. "I started my political career in 1978, and have fought 16 elections till date. I have never won any election, but I will continue my struggle because I want to do something for the poor," he says when asked what prompted him to contest elections.
He has in the past contested on the platforms of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the Lok Bhalai Party (LBP) and also as an independent.
Pitted against Mr Jhakku are Mohinder Singh Kaypee, the sitting Congress MP from Jalandhar who has now been shifted to Hoshiarpur, Vijay Sampla of the BJP and Aam Aadmi Party's Yamini Gomar. He dismisses the Congress and BJP as "outsiders" who have been "parachuted" by their parties. "It is really bad that the major political parties could not get local candidates for the seat," he says.
Hoshiarpur goes to polls on April 30, and Mr Jhakku is among the 17 candidates in the fray. "I earn my living by repairing shoes and even during my campaigns, I repair shoes of people in villages," he points out.
Mr Jhakku has two sons, one of whom is a constable with the Punjab Police. The other works as a clerk.