Mohanraj. J

Mohanraj Jebamani, 74, is a veteran politician and activist from Tamil Nadu with an unusual career trajectory spanning law enforcement, investigation, and serial electoral politics. Born around 1951-52, he is the son of Nellai R. Jebamani, a freedom fighter and Janata Party member who served in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Sattankulam in 1977. Mohanraj spent 21 years in the Tamil Nadu Police before joining the CBI, where he was part of the prestigious Special Investigation Team probing the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He voluntarily retired in 1997 to focus on politics and activism. Mohanraj founded the Jebamani Janata Party, named after his father, and has become known as a serial election contestant with minimal success. In the 1989 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections from Mylapore, he secured just 2,575 votes (2.17%) as an Independent. In 1996, contesting again from Mylapore under the TLJ banner, he received only 1,226 votes (1.03%). By 2019, he was contesting his 13th election from Perambur. Despite his persistent efforts across Parliament, Assembly, and local body elections, he has never won a seat. Controversially, Mohanraj has repeatedly filed false or exaggerated asset declarations to highlight what he views as systemic dishonesty in electoral affidavits. In 2009, he admitted to overstating his assets as Rs. 1,977 crore in a South Chennai Lok Sabha affidavit as a protest against other candidates understating their wealth. More dramatically, in 2019, he filed an affidavit claiming Rs. 1.76 lakh crore in cash and a Rs. 4 lakh crore loan from the World Bank—a clearly fabricated declaration that was embarrassingly accepted by the Election Commission without scrutiny, raising questions about the verification process. Beyond elections, Mohanraj has been an active litigant, filing numerous Public Interest Litigations (PILs) on diverse issues: objecting to modifications of the Tamil anthem Tamil Thai Valthu (2007), petitioning to ban Google Earth over national security concerns (2008), protesting the geographical indication for Tirupati laddu (2009), raising safety concerns about the MAC Cricket Stadium (2010), and seeking proper investigation of fishermen killing cases (2011). Voters should know that while Mohanraj brings a distinguished law enforcement background and genuine activism on public issues, his electoral record shows no success in converting these credentials into voter support, and his practice of filing deliberately false affidavits—however well-intentioned as protest—undermines the credibility of the electoral declaration system.