Full support from better halves

Satinder is the only one among the wives of candidates who has been active in politics,having been elected to the Municipal Corporation a few years ago. The BSP campaigning also sees their son pitching in by developing a software to help maintain the data of party workers. Once the campaigning picks up pace,all family members will start taking a tour of the city,seeking votes,says Satinder.

Madhu Bansal,wife of Union Minister of State for Finance and Congress candidate Pawan Kumar Bansal,manages the sitting MP’s office in Chandigarh when he is away in Delhi. From attending to a steady flow of people to marking her presence in rallies and public meetings,this self-confessed “simple housewife” does it all with a smile.

“When you are married to a politician,you get drawn into the whole process. I try to share his burden and duties. My son Manish,too,chips in,though he is not much interested in politics,” she says.

BJP candidate Satya Pal Jain seems to be the most tech-savvy candidate in the fray. He maintains a website and regularly updates his blogs. The brain behind his e-campaign is,however,his son Dheeraj. Apart from maintaining the website,Dheeraj gives his father ideas on how to reach out to a larger number of people. Shashi Bala Jain,his wife,gave up her career in teaching to support her husband and is now busy addressing women in different parts of the city.

“I do not have any political ambition. I am here just to help my husband. With the elections round the corner,we are holding numerous public meetings to listen to the problems of women and telling them what the BJP would do for them if voted to power. I hardly have time these days and give less attention to the house,which is being run with the help of an additional domestic help,” says Shashi Bala.