Raj Bhakta is not a typical Republican candidate. But that is not plain from his website assertion that “this is a race between a reformer and a machine politician.”

No, what makes his campaign unconventional is the likelihood that when he wins his uncontested primary for Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District on May 16, cameras will start rolling and turn his bid for Congress into reality TV.

The plan is for a Manhattan film company — he cannot name it because he is “in final negotiations” — to capture his campaign in its entirety. Everything is fair game. All will be revealed.

The end result: a documentary and, he hopes, a seat in Congress to replace Democrat Allyson Schwartz.

Bhakta, 30 and single, is a newcomer to politics, but he isn’t new to being on camera. In the fall of 2004, Bhakta, a real-estate developer, appeared on nine episodes of the second season of “The Apprentice” before being canned by Donald Trump.

Another unpleasant reality for Bhakta: A month ago, he admitted to two DUIs — one outside Boston in 1997, the other in Vail, Colo., in 2004. That might explain the silence that followed after I asked if campaign partying would be part of the documentary.

“I am deeply sorry and ashamed for my behavior,” he said at a press conference after the Smoking Gun website released reports of his 1997 arrest. “Everyone makes mistakes. These were big mistakes. It won’t happen again, and I ask for understanding and forgiveness.”

Bhakta still drinks occasionally but says he doesn’t have a problem. After the 1997 incident, a judge ordered him to attend an alcohol education program and pay a $30 fine.

His critics, all Democrats, complain that he’s turning the campaign into a mockery.

“I don’t think much of it,” says Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). “We deal in a real-world situation, war and peace. I think it’s advisable that people who run for Congress run with a seriousness of intent, and it [the documentary] does not suggest a seriousness of intent that will be appreciated by voters.”

Maybe not. But so far, Bhakta says, the phones at campaign headquarters are ringing off the hook with calls from twenty-somethings who want to work on his campaign.

Picking staff is an elaborate process. Beginning tomorrow, candidates will be interviewed in groups of three to four, during which Bhakta will pop in and see if anyone jumps out at him. After that, he will interview candidates privately.

There will be more interviews on May 13, followed by more in Washington, Boston and New York. Candidates will be narrowed down to 1,000, then to 100 and then pooled into a team of 15 campaign workers who will sign release forms to have their lives taped at all hours of the day and night.

“People in politics are sort of trained to talk in a compelling manner, but we’re looking for people to be able to talk and execute,” he says. “We need doers.”

Bhakta’s political experience amounts to eighth-grade class president, vice president of the Model United Nations, president of the Classical Music Club and president of a speech-and-debate society.

“It is a deep and abiding love of country,” he says when asked why he wants to be in Congress, explaining that he’s a first-generation American. His father is from India, his mother from Ireland.

“The Republican Party needs a fresh face and a fresh perspective,” he says, “and that is what I bring.”

Bhakta shrugs off his critics, saying, “You well know that Clinton’s ’92 race was filmed. There was a documentary of the last presidential race. This is standard for high-profile races. People always question out-of-the-box maneuvers.”

But critics insist that this isn’t a “high profile” race at all, that Bhakta has no chance of winning.

“I just don’t see it,” says Larry Ceisler, a former Democratic consultant who runs a public-relations firm in Philadelphia and Harrisburg. “I mean, we have several competitive races here in the southeast and that’s not one of them. The Republicans weren’t able to get a credible candidate in that race. I don’t think he expects to win, but maybe he expects to get something else out of it. It will be very enjoyable to watch.”

Ceisler says Bhakta has no chance against Schwartz, who already has a campaign war chest of $1.77 million: “She’ll end up being the star on election night, but she’ll probably only be a co-star in the documentary.”

Bhakta, who has raised $250,000 so far, disagrees, saying, “I strongly believe we are going to win. This is 100 times more interesting than your average race.”

Bhakta has plenty of insults for Schwartz. For starters, he accused her of being “afraid to be real” for declining an offer last week to appear on “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.” He accepted and says she declined because “she can’t script and sound bite the whole thing. What are you afraid of Allyson? Come out, come out wherever you are.”

The GOP candidate is also critical of Congress and career politicians. “Folks like my opponent tell you they are for motherhood and apple pie,” he says. “My opponent won’t discuss the serious issues. Do they want the same phony-baloney politicians, or do they want a change? It [Congress] is just full of these phony-baloney people.” (Interesting approach for a guy who may one day serve alongside them.)

In the end, he says, Schwartz is “a career politician” whose “interests are clouded by a desire to hold on to power and greed.”

Schwartz supporters, meanwhile, insist that Bhakta’s interests are questionable. “He’s running a campaign that seems to be more about self-promotion than the voters of the district,” says a source close to the campaign who did not want to be identified.

Mary Horstman, spokeswoman for the Schwartz campaign, seeks to tie Bhakta to President Bush and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.). She remarks, “The last thing we need is a yes man for President Bush. This guy has stated he is pleased with the Bush-Santorum agenda, and the voters will rightly reject his extreme right-wing positions.”

Horstman says Schwartz declined “The Daily Show” offer for no other reason than that “it’s just a case that she’s working hard in Congress.”

Bhakta says the documentary will not be an egocentric affair, insisting that the focus will be on workers who typically “toil away in anonymity,” ignored for their tireless work.

“Usually the candidate is the center of the documentary,” he says. “In this case, it’s going to be the staff.”

To find out how to apply for Bhakta’s reality campaign, visit www.rajforcongress.com. To visit Schwartz’s campaign, go to www.allysonschwartz.com.