Hema Malini is the BJP's candidate from Mathura
"Laxmi (goddess of wealth) doesn't come on a cycle (Samajwadi party's election symbol), or on an elephant (BSP's election symbol), she comes on a lotus. Send this Laxmi to Parliament."
Thats how actor-politician Hema Malini, BJP candidate from Mathura, is introduced to a hall full of eager people, some already taking pictures on their phones.
(India Votes 2014: Coverage)On the last day of campaigning in Braj bhoomi or the land of Krishna, which votes on Thursday, the mythological reference draws an applause from the crowd.
Hema Malini, 65, is running for parliament. She was member of the Rajya Sabha between 2003 and 2009 but this is her debut Lok Sabha election.
(I'm no outsider to Mathura, Hema Malini)"I am not an outsider," she says, somewhat tired of answering the question she has faced repeatedly since she started her campaign over three weeks ago. "I chose Mathura since I have a long association with braj bhoomi," she said.
"I have always wanted to buy a house here, now that's finally happening," she says in response to criticism that after the election ends, she will return to Mumbai, rarely to return.
Not far from where Hema Malini is speaking, at the Ramlila Ground in Mathura, crowds are waiting for Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi to arrive. This is the first joint rally Rahul Gandhi will hold with Jayant Choudhary, son of Union Minister Ajit Singh and grandson of India's former Prime Minister Choudhary Charan Singh, whose name still holds sway over the majority Jat voters in Western UP.
(Three southern stars hope to win over western UP)The young MP says, "People have seen her (Hema Malini) in their homes growing up. I did too. But you can't connect with people in the same way during elections. Her campaign has actually helped my campaign because she doesn't connect. There is a distance."
Hema Malini is banking on the popularity of
Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, to help her in this election. In her constituency, nearly half of the 16 lakh voters are women. But Mathura has never elected a woman member of Parliament, handing out defeats to Choudhary Charan Singh's wife and Ajit Singh's sister in the past.
(Narendra Modi's busiest day in Uttar Pradesh includes rally for Hema Malini)Jayant Choudhary, on the other hand, hopes the recent cabinet decision to introduce reservation for Jats in education and government jobs will help him electorally. There are 3.5 lakh Jat voters in Mathura.
Hema Malini, though, quickly points out that she too is a Jat bahu or daughter-in-law. Her husband, actor Dharmendra, was expected to campaign for her but she says ill health has kept him away.