Meet IAF Veteran Bhopinder Singh Saini from the Viro ke Vir Indian Party.
In an election driven and dominated by powerful and moneyed candidates, retired Indian Air Force serviceman Bhopinder Singh Saini is running a bare-bone campaign.
He does most of his travelling by bus or train and has only gone to 2-3 localities so far to ask for votes.
His expenses include fuel for the two scooters that accompany him at times and pamphlets that are yet to be printed.
So far, most of his canvassing is done on WhatsApp.
"I do not have any experience in this field. I am paying from my own personal savings. Though there are big people in the fray, this is the start of my journey," says Saini, 66, a former technician who worked on surveillance radars in the IAF and is a candidate of the Viro ke Vir Indian Party from Mumbai North East.
The party was founded by a civilian in Surat, Gujarat. It was registered in 2023, and aims to bring together ex-servicemen from the Indian Army, Indian Navy and IAF into politics.
Mr Saini worked in the IAF for 15 years and served in air force stations in the North East, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and retired in 1990 as a corporal.
His father served in the Indian Navy while his grandfather was in the British Indian Army and served in Afghanistan. "My grandfather later drove a truck in the North East and I remember him showing me his driving license," adds Mr Saini, who settled down in Mumbai post retirement. "I was born in Colaba since my father was in the navy and I grew up in Mumbai."
After retirement, he went on to work in sales, supply chain management and in supervisory roles in car workshops and diamond cutting industries.
Incidentally, the Viro ke Vir Indian Party's symbol is a diamond.
"I joined politics because as someone who has served the nation as an IAF personnel, I still have more to give to my nation," he says. "I do not want to say anything negative about other candidates, but I feel the country needs educated candidates and corruption-free politics."
Mr Saini was told about the Viro ke Vir Indian Party by a former colleague in the IAF who had also filed his nomination, but withdrew later. Last October, Mr Saini attended a party meeting in Surat organised by the founder and decided to take the political plunge.
He filed his nomination on April 26 accompanied by three well-wishers.
"We are at the crossroads of our national destiny and I want to bring values of integrity, fairness and service into politics," he says and wants to advocate farmer's rights and focus on organic farming.
"Organic farming should be the mainstream practice for a healthier life, water conservation and a cleaner planet."
The other issue that he wants to focus on is the simplification of the judicial system to make it accessible to common citizens regardless of background, and economic status.
"I have deep respect for the youth and sportspersons. I also want to champion their cause so that they can thrive."
"Ultimately, education, health, safety should be the right of every citizen."
In Mumbai North East, the main contest is between Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sanjay Dina Patil and Mihir Kotecha of the BJP. In the countdown to polling day, senior BJP leader Narendra Modi held a road show in the constituency on Tuesday, May 15.
Mumbai votes on May 20.
Pitted against formidable opponents, there may not be a chance of Mr Saini's success, but he is unnerved.
"This is the start of a journey. Let's see how far it takes me," he says encapsulating the beauty of a parliamentary democracy where the big and the not so big -- all have a right to a place on that EVM machine.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
