By IANS,
New Delhi : His son and Shah Rukh Khan are co-brothers. But Deepak Bhardwaj, the wealthiest candidate in the Lok Sabha polls so far, says he can fight on his own right and doesn’t need the superstar to campaign for him.
While virtually every political party is banking on star campaigners and film stars to woo voters, Bhardwaj – the Bahujan Samaj Party candidate from West Delhi – seems an exception.
“I enjoy a very good reputation among voters in my constituency and I don’t need Khan to campaign for me. After all, Khan is quite busy with his engagements in IPL matches,” said Bhardwaj, who has declared assets worth Rs.603 crore, making him the richest candidate so far.
Bhardwaj’s son Nitesh is married to the sister of Shah Rukh’s wife Gauri.
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More Bollywood faces hit campaign trail
Crowds waiting patiently at a political rally in Shirdi in Maharashtra were rewarded when actress Urmila Matondkar came on stage. Urmila drew more cheers and catcalls than the Republican Party of India (RPI) candidate Ramdas Athawale for whom she had come to campaign.
In Mumbai, a star-turned daughter-in-law dutifully came out to campaign for her father-in-law and drove the crowds crazy. Ayesha Takia, now married to Farhan, son of Samajwadi Party state chief Abu Asim Azmi, came for a road show in the Mumbai North-West constituency. The senior Azmi was seen grinning from ear-to-ear.
Bollywood’s bad boy Salman Khan has campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. So now the question being asked is will he or won’t he campaign for the Shiv Sena.
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Distributing cash? No asking for it
They are often said to tread the path less trodden – and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) did it again in Tamil Nadu.
While the leaders of several parties have made news for distributing cash among voters in violation of the model code of conduct, CPI-M workers did the exact opposite in Chennai.
Residents of a locality in Chennai who answered their doorbell one morning were surprised to find the CPI-M cadres asking not for votes but for cash donations!
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A good time to escape traffic fines
Guess when the traffic police are looking the other way? When politicians are campaigning. New Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Vijay Goel was campaigning with a large number of his supporters who were in cars, open jeeps and motorbikes.
While some were standing on the steps of a Scorpio SUV, shouting slogans, others were triple riding without wearing any helmets and holding banners. But the traffic policemen were busy ignoring the evidence before them.
They decided to focus instead on vehicular movement as traffic had come to a grinding halt thanks to Goel’s cavalcade.