Dharti Pakar (also spelt Dharti Pakad; transcribed as Dhartipakar and Dhartipakad as well) (etymology: ''Dharti'' = Earth; ''Pakar'' = Grasp: "One who clings on") is the nickname of at least three
perennial candidates in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
who contested unsuccessfully in several elections against top political leaders.
A
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
television show looking at the electoral politics was named ''Dharti Pakar'' after a man named
Kaka Joginder Singh
Kaka Joginder Singh (1918 in Gujranwala – 23 December 1998, in Bareilly) (also known as Dharti Pakar, meaning "one who clings") was a textile owner and perennial candidate who contested and lost over 300 elections in India.[Bhopal
Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...]
, also had the nickname of Dharti Pakar for contesting elections against five different Prime Ministers and losing the deposit in all these elections. Nagarmal Bajoria is also known by the nickname of Dharti Pakar; he contested from over 278 constituencies and used donkeys for campaigning in an election.
There are others who have contested several elections (se
this
for example) unsuccessfully, but not necessarily known by the sobriquet.
Dharti Pakar is also a popular nickname in office politics referring to individuals who have no case for meaningful existence in the prevailing environment.
References
External links
Indian television series
Nicknames of politicians
{{India-politician-stub