‘Dream Girl’ keeps Panchkula waiting

Amit Bathla

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, October 19

The last day of the campaigning turned out to be an embarrassment for the BJP as Mathura MP and Bollywood actress Hema Malini could not make it to the event held in Sector 16 here.

People from various colonies and villages, who started gathering at the venue around 2 pm, returned with a heavy heart as they wanted to catch a glimpse of ‘Dream Girl’.

The embarrassment was also apparent on the face of BJP leaders sitting on dais as they were witnessing people leaving the event before it ended. In the last minute of campaigning, Ambala MP Rattan Lal Kataria was asked to address the public. With his poetic dig at Congress candidate Chander Mohan, he tried to hold people’s attention, but his attempts did not bring any result as people had already lost their patience.

Following this, BJP district president Deepak Sharma apologised for inconvenience. “She (Hema Malini) didn’t come as her helicopter faced technical glitches. As the campaigning ends at 5 pm, we have now told her to not come,” he said.

Dharam Prakash from Barwala, who attended the public gathering, said they (BJP leaders) should have informed it earlier that Hema Malini would not come.

Later, the media was told by Naveen Garg of the BJP media cell that she would reach around 3 pm.