With the poll fever on, family members of candidates and prospective candidates have joined the hustle and bustle of campaigning. Chandigarh votes in the last phase on May 19, while the results will be declared on May 23
The first to hit the streets is the family of AAP’s official candidate Harmohan Dhawan. His 74-year-old wife Satinder Dhawan and son Bikram Dhawan have already started going from door to door in the city to seek support for him.
Age, says Satinder, is no deterrent when it comes to knocking on strangers’ doors for votes. “I walk around 7 to 8 kilometres every day to meet people and seek their support. I get my daily dose of energy from the overwhelming response of residents who say they will support Aam Aadmi Party now,” beams Satinder, whose day begins at 11 in the morning and finishes after sundown with a short break for lunch around 2.30 pm.
These days, this former councillor is joined by her son Bikram Dhawan, who is into IT business, but is taking out time to campaign for his dad. The mother-son duo are the chief strategists for Dhawan, chalking out the next day’s plan of action every night.
“Our work doesn’t end at 8 pm. After dinner, we all sit down and chalk out the areas we have to cover the next day. For instance, mom has covered villages and colonies, and I am at the moment covering the markets,” explains Bikram.
Madhu Bansal, 64, the better half of former Union minister Pawan Bansal, the frontrunner for the Congress ticket from Chandigarh, has also been reaching out to people with local issues. Addressing Dadumajra residents on Saturday evening, she fumed, “All promises made to the residents in these five years were broken. Garbage is stashed everywhere, roads are broken… there is nothing right.’’
Madhu doesn’t mince words while slamming the national BJP leadership as well. “They have just been making false promises,” she frowns.
Like Bansal, Avinash Singh Sharma, a lawyer who is contesting from his own Chandigarh Ki Awaaz party, is leaning on his 44-year-old wife Simple Sharma and 18-year-old son Aaditya to campaign for him during the day when he is away to court.
Addressing a group of people, Simple says, “Congress and BJP have just fooled people. Be it need-based changes or Street Vendors Act, both these parties have done nothing. My husband has been your voice all these years.’’
Like the other two spouses, she also says she is getting a good response. Chandigarhians, it seems, don’t disappoint
anyone.