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Eunuch in fray

Many bizarre

candidates in

India's upcoming

elections

NEW DELHI: A eunuch promising radical change through psychology, a Sikh planning to lose a dozen seats and a film-maker seeking a win through divine help join many bizarre candidates in India's upcoming vote. "You have tried men, you have tried women, now try me," is the appeal to the voters of Kali, a 55-year-old eunuch who is seeking a seat in the Indian parliament from the eastern state of Bihar.

Described by a newspaper as six feet two inches tall (1.87 meters) with the "ebony physique of Hercules," Kali (Eds: one name) is running on the Judicial Reforms Party ticket and is promising to bring about radical changes through psychology.

Kaka Joginder Singh, a 62-year-old Sikh, is a candidate from about a dozen constituencies, having already lost more than 270 elections -- ventures which cost him a small fortune in registration fees.

In the desert state of Rajasthan, a top Hindi-language filmmaker is standing for election from the provincial capital Jaipur. He has no plans to campaign and is relying solely on divine intervention.

Also running for office in Rajasthan is a revered Hindu priest, the bearded Mahant Advaidyanath, who is being fielded by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, India's main opposition party.

Other political novices include a cigarette vendor in Bombay, a coconut seller in Madras and a young post-graduate in the same southern city who says he is carrying on a family tradition of contesting, and losing, elections.

A glance at the list of the more than 400 politicial parties registered with the Election Commission reveals some unusual names and platforms.

Election Commissioner M.S. Gill told AFP that mavericks were an irritant one had to put up with.

"Non-serious candidates are always a problem," he said. "But in a democracy you cannot say no to anybody."-APP