Kancheepuram: "Chillarai Chitharanjan" is back to the arena again! Nightmare for election officials!

This coconut trader, who has gained fame (or notoriety!) as 'Chillarai (Small Change) Chitharanjan' has been a terror for the Election Office since 1988 when he got this idea of paying all his deposit money in the form of small coins underscoring the point he is a small time trader in coconuts opposite to the Guru Temple and that is the only way he can give his deposit upto the last minute collection!

Elections 2004-The Drama unfolds...
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Thus he stood in four MLA constituencies and two MP constituencies in 1991 in this district paying all of the deposits (250 for MLA and 500 for MP seat) as deposit in small changes.

Perhaps this helped in the case of non-serious contestants! For in 1996 he found he had to pay Rs.5,000 and Rs.10,000 as deposits simultaneously for MLA seat in Kancheepuram and MP seat in Chengalpattu. He went on to lose the elections as well as the deposits! Came 1999 when was back with his bag of coins. But this time his gimmick backfired or perhaps it was well-timed! For the officials could not finish counting his 10,000 in time and finally found he was short of a few rupees and his nomination was rejected!

Today Chitharanjan has come back distributing copies of his faxed message to the President of India complaining that poor men like him are taxed because of such frequent elections. The current Parliament was dissolved much in advance, he decries. A poor contestant like him has to amass the deposit in coins and bring them, he laments.

He has got his form today and will be back on April 22 to file his nomination.

As of now, he has contested seven MLA and two MP elections and lost deposits, all paid in his own coins!!