A poster by Vinod Pawar pitting himself against PM Narendra Modi for 2019 elections.

NOIDA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered invincible in the 2019 Lok Sabha election since Bihar CM Nitish Kumar shifted towards BJP and formed government, but a Noida man claims himself as a strong candidate against the prime minister in the election.

Thirty-six-year-old Vinod Pawar claims some astrologer has predicted him as a strong prime ministerial candidate and he is taking this seriously. He has also made some posters stationing himself against prime minister Narendra Modi as rival candidate. Pawar is a graduate in chemistry and runs a coaching centre in Noida's Sector 50.

“The country is facing severe economic crisis. The labourers are not getting paid the minimum wages. There is tension at the borders. There are so many issues that need to be addressed. I want to become a prime minister to lead the nation to economic growth and prosperity,” he told TOI.

This is the second time Pawar is trying his luck in politics. In January 2017, he had filed nomination papers for MLA candidate from Noida assembly seat and declared Russian President Vladimir Putin as a friend and Mahatma Gandhi, along with several other freedom fighters and leaders, as his prastavaks (introducers). His political journey was, however, cut short with the cancellation of his candidature for not providing substantial information.

Besides Gandhi, he had named Swami Vivekananda, Martin Luther King Junior, B R Ambedkar, APJ Abdul Kalam, Nelson Mandela, Subhash Chandra Bose, Gautam Buddha, Abraham Lincoln and others as 'prastavaks'. Whereas, as per the rule, an independent candidate needs signatures of 10 'prastavaks' on the affidavit and they must also be voters in the same constituency.

Pawar reiterated his stand on prastavaks in nomination papers. “Why do I name local people as prastavaks, when I have freedom fighters and other scholars to name,” he said.

