Locked in a fierce electoral battle on Chandigarh’s lone Lok Sabha seat, Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate and outgoing MP Kirron Kher and Congress’ nominee, former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal are mincing no words and gestures in attacking each other.
With only a few days left for the polling day i.e. May 19 in Chandigarh, the arch rivals are busy in hectic campaigning through a string of activities including public meetings, door-to-door campaigning, workers’ meetings, Padayatras, public interactions among others that is running till late night in the city amid election season.
Besides talking about local issues at their public meetings, both Kher and Bansal have made Prime Minister Narendra Modi the central figure in their campaign. Kher is seeking votes in the name of Modi telling people that a vote for her will be a vote for Modi for a stronger nation while Bansal is seeking to build sentiments against Modi saying that the PM and his party are the biggest threat to secularism and democracy of the country.
In their previous poll battle in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, actor turned politician, Kirron Kher, in her election debut had trounced Congress’ Pawan Bansal, breaking his winning spree maintained in the three parliamentary polls before 2014 in Chandigarh.
The quintessential ‘Mammyji’ of Bollywood movies, Kher is now seeking mandate for a second term in Chandigarh but her “movie star” status remain undiminished here. During her campaign trail, the denizens are gathering to have a glimpse of their ‘celebrity’ MP, some trying to shake hands with her and other attempting to get a selfie with her.
As she arrives at a public meeting (jan sabha) in Sector 20 here in the evening, many passerby stops to catch a glimpse of the ‘Bollywood actress’. The chairs at the last few rows are empty at the public meeting as people prefer to gather near the dais to click her pictures besides listening to her speech.
Before beginning her address, Kher asks people whether to speak in Punjabi or Hindi and begins her speech in Punjabi after their approval. She might not be a seasoned politician like her opponent Pawan Bansal but she seems to have perfected the art of connecting with her supporters over the years.
Under attack from her opponents for “guest appearance” and “lack of focus” in the city in the last five years, the first thing, she tells her supporters, “My husband (actor Anupam Kher) was in New York for the last eight months while I was here to work for you… My life is now Dadumajra, Hallomajra and to work for the people of this city. I have worked very hard to address your grievances. Still, some people are lying that I was not here in the last five years.”
At the meeting, Kher even jokes how she feels like punching Bansal for lying, drawing laughter from her supporters. During the speech, her expression game is too hard to miss as she continues her tirade against Bansal.
Few moments at the meeting reminds me of her viral video of Parliament proceedings, where she was seen giggling, giving amusing expressions, gesturing to someone, talking to another member, and not concentrating on the proceedings at all.
As Kher continue highlighting her achievements, two women passersby stop to have a glimpse of their MP and left after few minutes, but not without discussing the elegant pink suit worn by the actress and her no jewelry look. The two women tell me that they watch TV reality show-India’s Got Talent, where Kher is a judge and they are fan of her ethic look and classic jewelry designs at the show.
When asked whether they will vote for Kher, they just smiled and left the venue.
On the dais, Kher continues to tell people that she is not a celebrity and choose to serve people of Chandigarh. I have resolved issues of government employees, shopkeepers… I am working to resolve traffic problems here. Vote for me… Your vote will go to Modi and strengthen this nation, she says.
“I promise, I will work for you… You can trust me and Modiji blindly and press the symbol of Lotus (BJP symbol) on the polling day. But be careful when you go and press a button on Electronic Voting Machine… Don’t do that blindly and end up voting for someone else inadvertently,” she quips.
As she leaves after concluding about 20-minute long speech, Kher, with folded hands, seeks public support once again.
Before her arrival, which was an hour behind the schedule at the public meeting in Sector 20 on Monday, the gathering listened to city BJP president Sanjay Tandon, Kalka MLA Latika Sharma and city party leaders amid the chants of slogans ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’.
At another corner of Sector 20, people are waiting for the arrival of Congress candidate and former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
A local singer is keeping the audience engaged with patriotic songs as they patiently wait for Bansal’s arrival. The Congress veteran finally arrives with Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel after a delay of over one hour. Feeling uncomfortable by the strong winds blowing outside, few choose to leave the venue as Bansal arrives while many are sitting patiently to listen to the four-time former MP.
It’s 8:15 PM and the sentiments among Bansal’s supporters are totally different from the people at BJP’s public meeting in the same sector. At Congress’ meeting, supporters are seated quietly, barring a few occasions, when they raise slogan in Congress’ favor as Bansal is speaking.
Few people standing near the meeting venue are discussing how Bansal will give a tough fight to Kirron Kher this time. When asked about their political leanings, they tell me Bansal is a good candidate for the city but they also like PM Modi.
The Congress leader Bansal, with a political career spanning nearly four decades, is unarguably a more mature politician than Kirron Kher and his speeches are focused on development of Chandigarh and failures of BJP.
Attacking the Prime Minister, the 70-year old politician, says, “The defeat is visible on Narendra Modi’s face as he himself knows he is going to lose. Unfortunately Modi thought he’s going to remain as the PM forever. But thanks to our democratic system, after every five year elections, the public of India are given the right to exercise their power, the power to vote.”
Bansal’s supporters clapped and cheered during his speech which lasted for a few minutes. The Congress leader sought their support before handing over the mike to another party leader Hardik Patel to speak.
At another public meeting in nearby Sector 22 before coming here, Bansal tells supporters how the BJP is a threat to secularism and democracy of the country. The BJP is dividing the people of this nation, he alleges.
Well-versed with the local issues, the Congress veteran says, “In Chandigarh, our schools don’t have enough teachers, dispensaries don’t have doctors, roads are broken, parks are in miserable condition and people don’t have houses. Here the BJP failed to address issues of poor sanitation, deteriorating law and order situation and traffic woes. MP Kher, it seems, had no interest in working in the interest of the city,” he concludes.
In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Chandigarh’s election arena had seen two actors from Bollywood and political greenhorns—BJP’s Kher and Aam Aadmi Party’s Gul Panag—against Congress’ seasoned politician Bansal in the fray. The AAP has this time fielded former Union Minister, Harmohan Dhawan.
Fighting her maiden election in 2014, Kher had managed to register a victory while riding high on Modi wave and lapping up the anti-incumbency votes against Congress.