A small political party in northern India is pushing for the reinstatement of the legal rights of people who have been declared dead by unscrupulous relatives trying to steal their assets.

The Mritak Sangh, or Association of the Dead, knows it is unlikely to win polls running through to next month in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous, and frequently lawless, state.

But Lal Bihari, 48, the party’s founder and president, said Saturday he hopes to highlight the plight of thousands of people who have had their lives taken away from them, usually by relatives in cahoots with corrupt government officials.

“We are using elections to highlight the problems of living dead,” said Bihari. “We know we cannot win elections but through election we can sensitize people and officials about this problem.”

His reasons for pursuing the cause stem from his own experience.

He was declared dead in 1976 by his uncle who connived with officials and took over his property, he says.

“To tell the world I am alive I lodged complaints with the police,” he told the Associated Press. “My efforts bore fruits and in 2004, I was declared alive by the government.”

The middle-aged man, usually dressed in crisp white clothes, frequently addresses small crowds who listen carefully to his election speeches.

He says there are at least 40,000 people who are facing this problem in Uttar Pradesh.

Nearly 110 million people are expected to vote in Uttar Pradesh’s seven-phase election that began on April 7. Results will be announced on May 11.

Bihari’s district Azamgarh, a dusty and impoverished area, is 300 kilometers southeast of Lucknow, the state capital, and will go to the polls May 3.

By Sirius on 30-04-2007