Thulum Saravanan, from the city of Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu who is running for the polls as an independent candidate, has released a list of promises to every resident of his constituency that includes a vacation to the Moon.
Saravanan in his election manifesto also promised to give the people of his constituency iPhones, mini-helicopters, an annual deposit of INR 10 million (over $130,000), and gold jewelry for weddings as well as three-storey houses.
Pictures of his promises written in the Tamil language alongside a picture of him with folded hands are going viral on social media.
Netizens have been baffled by Saravanan's promises, reacting with humour to his pledges. The Election Commission that assigns symbols to independent candidates has since given Saravanan a "green dustbin" for his symbolic identity on electronic voting machines – and netizens find it appropriate under the current circumstances.
Saravanan is not the only candidate in Tamil Nadu who has gone well out of his way to attract voters.
Thanga Kathiravan, a candidate from Tamil Nadu's ruling party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has been washing the dirty linen of voters on the roads of his constituency, Nagapattinam.
Another candidate KP Shankar from the party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) wore boxing gloves and threw some punches at his opponent while campaigning in his constituency, Tiruvottiyur in Tamil Nadu.
Assembly polls are to be held for 294 seats in West Bengal, 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, 140 seats in Kerala, 126 seats in Assam, and 30 seats in Puducherry. The vote counting for the election-bound states will be done on 2 May.