At 65, he makes a career move

Elections are all about begging for votes. So Mohammed Nurul Haque is out with a begging bowl.

Haque, however, is not your average beggar though penury has brought him to the streets. He will call it quits as soon as he collects enough money to pay for the security deposit to contest the Assam assembly polls. Haque’s logic is simple: “MLAs have all the fun and they don’t have to worry where their next meal would come from.”

A resident of Majgaon in western Assam’s Barpeta district, Haque (65) knows he chose politics as a career very late. “Better late than never,” says the science graduate, whose decision to return to his native village and become a teacher cost him a couple of lucrative jobs. Haque did hunt for jobs. He approached local politicians and officials in vain. “I used all my resources in paying bribes and it came to nought.”

The graduate beggar has chosen a vantage point — outside the gate of the state secretariat complex — to plead the passers-by to contribute for his cause.

Those who question his “outrageous idea” get this reply: “The constitution does not say a beggar cannot contest a democratic election. Besides, if bandits, rapists, criminals and tax evaders can contest the polls and become legislators, there’s no reason why a beggar can’t.”