JOIN USNot just candidates, their families too are braving the sweltering summer heat as they hit the campaign trail to seek votes for their brothers, fathers, husbands and other relatives.
If you have Savitri Singh, wife of BJP president Rajnath Singh, who is campaigning for her busy husband in Lucknow, Congress candidate Rita Bahuguna Joshi has her son Mayank and daughter-in-law Richa going through the rigmarole of traditional campaigning in the narrow bylanes of old city.
Rajnath Singh’s sons Pankaj and Neeraj and their wives are also in the core team of the BJP leader and they are busy taking part in election dos like 'mehndi' programmes, bhajan sandhya’s and also community kitchens.
Rajnath’s sister Madhu Singh is also campaigning for him. “Household chores can wait, for now it is India first,” she says.
Television actor Javed Jaaferi is ably assisted by his wife Habiba is his campaign manager.
Poet-turned-politician Kumar Vishwas, who is pitted against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the high-profile Amethi, has his wife Manju by his side.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is camping in a government guest house at Munshiganj, devising the best strategies for her brother Rahul and mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
She addresses a minimum of 10-12 big and small meetings in the two constituencies apart from coordinating with local leaders and acting as bridge between them and the Delhi election war room at the Tughlaq road residence of Rahul Gandhi.
UP’s young and tech savvy Science and Technology Minister Abhishek Mishra who was at the last minute pushed into the fray in Lucknow by the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) leadership is also assisted by his wife Swati who is “moving in her circles to pitch for her husband”.
Abdullah Khan, 21, youngest of the two siblings recently gave a high-decibel speech at a rally in Tanda and passionately appealed to the supporters of his father's party to see the fine print behind the gag order on his father's speech.
For Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, it’s his wife Sadhna Yadav who passes instructions to security officers Niyaz and others to ensure that the former UP chief minister has his routine medications, butter milk and Threptin biscuits to energise him through the dust ‘n’ heat of elections.
UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s wife “keeps an eye on the facebook account and other things and keeps bhaiyya informed of the day's developments on his BBM,” a close aide said.
BJP’s star candidate from Mathura, yesteryears dream girl Hema Malini, has her two daughters - Esha and Ehana, along with their hubbies, by her side.