Bhopal: It was 3pm. A sweltering May sun was beating down on the city turning its roads into a melting pot. But Amrita Singh, wife of Congress candidate from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat Digvijaya Singh, had hardly had any time for an afternoon siesta. She had to brave out the heat seeking votes for her husband. She set out of her bungalow at Shymla Hills in Bhopal on one such hot day. Free Press followed her when she was on the campaign trail around the city. She first stopped at Gulmohor colony to attend a mass wedding ceremony organised by the Rajput community. As soon as her car, a white Cresta, stopped, a group of people flocked to her to touch her feet. Her next halt was Kolar where she took part in an event of an NGO, Mahila Sakh Sanstha Maryadit in Bhopal.
She told a group of women from Gareeb Nagar locality why they should vote for the Congress. As she said that she met them for the first time and was trying to read their faces, she seemed to have struck an instant cord with the group. She made no bones about the fact that she could read tension writ large on their face. Then a woman, Sunita Bai, came up with some problems like lack of roads, water supply, schools and dearth of job opportunities. To her, Amrita said Gareeb Nagar would no more remain Ghareeb (poor). “The name should have been Ameer Nagar. But it did not happen, because the previous government that ruled for 15 years deprived you of all the opportunities,” she said. She then appealed to them to vote for Singh and spoke about NYAY that promises Rs 72,000 every year to the poor families. Amrita also spoke about what Singh did during his tenure as chief minister.
“You will get back what you have lost during the past five years of the BJP rule,” said Amrita who also ripped into ‘Achhe Din’ promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Her next destination was the residence of the vicechairman of TIT College Saurabh Karsoliya at Arera Colony. Here, she egged on the voters, mostly female teachers, to support the Congress to save the Indian democracy and the Constitution. “Media has been gagged. About 40 journalists have lost their lives during the past five years in MP in their fight for democracy.” She then stopped at Loyla auditorium in Campion College where she paid tribute to Pulwama martyrs, those who died in explosion in Sri Lakhna, the police officers who lost their lives in Gharchiruli in Maharashtra and to Hemant Karkare.
After that, she reached Ramanagar, Banganga Square, in TT Nagar where some singers presented a Bollowood number, ‘badi door se ayen hein… pyar ka…’ to welcome her. She assured the crowd that they would get the registration of their houses after the model code is lifted. She urged them to be aware of a jailbird who is fighting election and cast their vote for someone who really loves people and works for them. As she finished, the crowd stood motionless. She too was oblivious of what was happening around her, and when she looked at her watch, it was 9.30pm, and it was time to return home but only to wake up to the cockcrow.