Elections 2019: Sanjay Dutt campaigns for sister Priya in North Central

Actor Sanjay Dutt accompanied sister and former MP Priya Dutt on her campaign rally on Monday. Pic/Shadab Khan

At least a hundred people waited patiently on Sane Guruji Road in Santacruz for Congress candidate Priya Dutt's first road-show. While most were party workers, many were also eager Sanjay Dutt fans. "Baba aaya kya?" they kept asking each other.

As a show of support, actor Sanjay Dutt participated in the road show along with his sister and continued the journey even after the former MP left to attend some meetings in other areas of her constituency. Unfortunately for his fans, there was no speech from the actor and his engagement with the crowd was restricted to smiles and waves. Once he reached, people clamoured to climb into the van to get pictures with Sanjay Dutt. The chaos resulted in Priya and Sanjay Dutt's van getting stuck for 15-20 minutes and affecting traffic on the Sane Guruji Road.

The road show started from Santacruz and made its way through Gazdarband, Khar Danda, Carter Road, Bandra station area, Bandra Reclamation, Hill Road, Kantwadi and ended at Otters Club. Since the Dutts were running late, party workers decided to start the show on their own. Apart from 'Gali gali mein shor hai, Chowkidar chor hai', slogans promoting party president Rahul Gandhi - 'Na jaat par, na baat par, Rahul ji ki baat par, button dabao haat par' - were also heard.

The enthusiasm of the teenagers who were aboard one of the vans outdid that of the adults who followed behind. They took to mobile applications like Tik Tok and Instagram to share updates of the rally. Since the Dutts didn't speak, all the talking was done over the loudspeakers by the party workers. The sloganeering focussed on Rahul Gandhi's promises of giving 500-sq ft hours to the poor and free education to children till kindergarten.

Women root for Dutt

Speaking to mid-day, Sanjay Dutt said, "All the issues that Priya has taken up are relevant and important. I think she has done great work in every part of the constituency and that is why people love her the way they loved my father."

Apart from the party workers, many local women too came out in support of Dutt in Santacruz. When asked about their expectations from the candidate, 50-year-old Chanda Aigole, a resident of a transit camp in Shastri Nagar, said that she has pinned her hopes on Dutt to get her rehabilitated under the SRA scheme once she is elected. Another resident Kirti Pathak who lives near Rizvi Park has been facing issues with re-development. "Our building is 30 years old and is desperately in need of re-development. We hope that when Priya ji wins, she will help resolve our problem," she said.

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