A man is seen pushing a poster on wheels through the streets of Bagalkot and speaking at street corners.
This is the typical way in which Nagaraj Kalakutagar campaigns, for himself. He is an Independent candidate with the symbol of “A pair of slippers”.
The poster is pasted on both sides of an iron rack, attached to wheels. Mr. Kalakutagar pushes it all along the streets in the mid-day Sun beating down on him.
He stops at street corners and starts speaking to the motley crowd that gathers around him mostly out of curiosity.
He is a one-man team, who goes around town telling people about the need for a cleaner democracy. He speaks to college students and senior citizens alike and tells them stories of the freedom movement, the formation of the Constituent Assembly and the how the first few general elections were held.
He also raises questions about the problems they face everyday like corruption and price rise.
He is no ordinary candidate. He is a highly qualified professional. He studied geospatial engineering in the National Institute of Technology-Karnataka. He worked in India and the U.S. for a few years before taking the plunge into activism.
He joined the pan India pro-Lokpal agitations organised by India Against Corruption. Mr. Kalakutgar is married. His wife takes care of his son who is in high school.
He is no stranger to padayatras. He walked from Bagalkot to New Delhi for months, to express solidarity with the farmers who were protesting against the farm law amendments. When he had crossed Madhya Pradesh, he got the news that his mother had passed away. He took a taxi home to participate in the funeral. But soon after, he was out on the road again. He resumed the padayatra from where he left it. He reached New Delhi and joined the protestors.
His current padayatra began in December 2022, long before he decided to contest the polls. He began a campaign for corruption-free and communalism-free India. “I have covered all villages in Bagalkot Assembly constituency on foot. I will try to reach all major towns and villages once more, before polling,” he says.
He says that he realises that his chances of victory are bleak. “But I want to keep the discourse on free and fair polls alive,” he said.
Some vested interests have discouraged him from contesting polls and campaigning. But he says he does not worry about such threats. “Whether it is social activism or political campaign, I have been all by myself. These will continue unhindered,” he said.
