Hotte Paksha Rangaswamy (1933 – January 7, 2007) was a political leader from the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

, who had a penchant for contesting elections. He is a Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

holder for having contested the highest number of elections - he unsuccessfully did so 86 times.

Name

His name literally translates to Rangaswamy of the Stomach Party in Kannada. This is attributed to his electoral plank of food shortage, which made him popular. He earned the name Hotte Paksha after he floated a political party by that name.

Electoral penchant

He made his electoral debut in 1967 when he contested the Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 poll against the then railway minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah

Kengal Hanumanthaiah

Kengal Hanumanthaiah was the chief minister of the old Mysore State in India from 30 March 1952 to 19 August 1956...

. He fought 85 further electoral battles.

In the 1970s, he ran against Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

 in the Chikmagalur by-poll. He also ran against the former Indian Prime Ministers

Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...

 Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...

 and P. V. Narasimha Rao

P. V. Narasimha Rao

Pamulaparti Venkata "Narasimha Rao" was the ninth Prime Minister of India . He led an important administration, overseeing a major economic transformation and several home incidents affecting national security of India. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj. He is often referred to as...

. His final electoral battle was against former Chief minister of Karnataka S. M. Krishna

S. M. Krishna

Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna , generally referred to as S. M. Krishna, is the Minister of External Affairs and a member of the Indian Parliament from Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha. He was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to...

.

Drive against poverty

Rangaswamy released his own manifesto in 1967, made food shortage his election plank, and has been known to have sold rice at Rs.

Indian rupee

The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....

 1 a kg during election time, peddling his wares on a bullock cart. He also went across Karnataka cycling for ths same cause. He was also known for his proclivity for filing Public Interest Litigation

Public interest litigation

In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...

 petitions.

Later life

"Hotte Paksha" Rangaswamy, with his trident and matted locks, was a familiar sight across Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

. In his later life, he wanted to be known as Swami Ranganathapuri, of Kishkindha Ashram in Ayodhya. He was survived by three sons.