Lok Sabha polls: Hema Malini hits a dry patch

AGRA: Hema Malini has hit a bit of a rough patch in Mathura of late. While she was booed earlier — 'Basanti' was asked to go back to the movies — now even 'Veeru' seems to have ditched her.
In a double blow for Hema, who is the BJP candidate in Mathura, while Dharmendra could not finalize his plans to come and help her as she goes asking for votes, the strong door-to-door campaigning by her opponent Jayant Chaudhary is only adding to her and the BJP’s woes.
The ‘Dream Girl’ of Bollywood might be trying hard to touch the hearts of the residents of Krishna Nagari but local residents have shown little sign that they have been able to relate to the pinup girl of the `70s. It hasn’t helped her cause that she has been unwilling to get out of the Audi car in which she takes off for her road shows. Some days back a photograph showed a Hema Malini with her face fully covered with her sari’s pallu waving to the crowd through the sunroof of her car.
If the curious, often unruly mobs that collect around her were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Deol parivar — Dharmendra, Sunny, Bobby, Esha — they haven’t been lucky. None of Hema’s family members have reached Mathura till now. Ahana Deol, though, was there by her mother’s side when Hema went to the collectorate on nomination day to file her papers.
“She just zips around. She talks but does not listen. She gets tired inside an AC car while her followers and locals hang around in the scorching sun for a glimpse,” complained Shakuntala Singh, a teacher at a Mathura government school.
Another resident, Dr RK Jha, said he can't see a leader in Hema because of her ‘Bollywood tantrums’. “You cannot win our hearts by just talking about Krishna. He is with us and will be, but what we are searching for is a leader who will listen to our grievances and try to resolve them,” he said.
All this seems to have gone in the favour of Jayant Chaudhary, the RLD candidate from the seat. His detailed door-to-door campaigning, leaving no house unvisited, has struck a chord. Pointing out the difference between their styles, Jha said that while both have been to villages like Chatta, Farah, Kosi and Baldeo in the recent past, “Hema has just waved from her car and Jayant has not only spoken to individual family members there but also taken part in panchayat meetings.”
DB Goel, the BJP’s spokesperson in Mathura, insisted Dharmendra and Esha will soon make an entry. “The party is planning a brisk campaigning with actors Dharmendra and Esha who will be coming to boost our efforts,” he said. “The party is happy with Hema's campaigning and is looking forward to her victory in the polls.”