Shiv Sena candidate pays ₹6,300 in coins to buy nomination papers

RANCHI:Shiv Sena candidate Manish Kumar Gupta sprung a surprise in district election office at Garhwa by paying Rs 6,300 in coins to buy nomination papers to contest the assembly polls.

Gupta deposited all the coins in denomination of Re 1. Initially, the poll officials were hesitant to accept it but later they deputed three officials to count the coins, which took more than two hours.

Gupta purchased his nomination papers on Thursday and will submit it on November 13.

“I have deposited Rs 6,300 in coins, while rest of the amount in notes. The objective was to highlight the trouble in managing coins before the traders, as banks as well as customers are reluctant to accept coins,” said Gupta, who runs a building material shop in Garhwa.

The election commission has fixed Rs 10,000 as security money for general candidates, while Rs 5,000 for scheduled tribe (ST) or scheduled caste (SC) candidates.

Gupta said, “After demonetisation, flow of coins increased in the market and we are the major sufferers. We cannot deny customers, when they pay in coin due to business interest. I visited banks many times to deposit coins but they do not accept more than 100 coins that too after several requests. So, I decided to use all the coins for purchasing nomination papers,” he said.

Garhwa sub-divisional officer (SDO), Pradip Kumar, who is also the returning officer, said, “When candidate said he could pay only in coins, we cannot deny it. We engage three people to count the coins. It took around two hours.”

Gupta had contested 2014 assembly elections at the age of 26 from Garhwa constituency as Independent and got 1,595 votes. BJP’s Satyendra Nath Tiwary had won the seat.

However, he is confident of win this time. “2014 was my first election and I had no experience. But, I have been in the field for the past five years and also got symbol of Shiv Sena. So, I am confident this election,” Gupta said.