Holding fort,from home
Though she is very actively participating in the election campaigns for her husband,Congress candidate Suresh Kalmadi,Meera Kalmadi insists that she should be known and recognised as a housewife.
5 min read
Meera Kalmadi
Though she is very actively participating in the election campaigns for her husband,Congress candidate Suresh Kalmadi,Meera Kalmadi insists that she should be known and recognised as a housewife. A housewifes role in not restricted to kitchen,she has to look after everything. And if I am helping my husband in his work that is a part of my responsibility that I accept and enjoy doing. Meera Kalmadi is quite popular among the slum dwellers. When asked if she feels that Suresh Kalmadis tight schedule and that because of her own participation she gets less or no time to spend in family,she says,It is true that election is keeping us busy,especially my husband. But family is my priority. It is like any other function in house,during which,the family seldom meets and spends time with each other and we are experiencing the same. Talking about herself,she says,I come from a non-political background and I try to remain away from entering politics even now.
Madhuri Shirole
Giving full marks to their devotion and total confidence of winning,Madhuri Shirole claims she is leaving no stone unturned. We both campaign at different places and I mostly interact with the women,visit slums,hold padayatras and so on. I have campaigned many times earlier so this is not a new thing but the difference is that its on a larger scale and a bigger responsibility. We hardly get to talk to each other so theres not much of participation in decision making,now its more about actions. For Shirole,politics has been an inevitable aspect ever since childhood although she finds it more comfortable to remain behind the scenes. When one person takes up a challenge he needs a whole support system behind and I think thats my duty for the time being, she adds.
Hemanti Kulkarni
For Hemanti Kulkarni,its double the work than her husband,looking after the office,addressing the public and managing the house. My part of work during the campaigning has been more of back office. I enjoy working deciding on the expenses,permissions,arranging meetings and so on as well as visiting our work office, she says. Packed the entire day,it may stretch from six in the morning till midnight for both of them. While he leaves home early in the morning,I allot a couple of hours for myself and engage from nine onwards till even midnight at times. Along with the office work there is also participation in rallies,and accompanying him to campaigns and meeting as many people as possible.
Preeti Bhatia
She is,it seems,multi-tasking. I am playing a personal assistant to my husband. I look after every other work be it going to bank,taking care of bills that would have kept him busy otherwise and also helping him in his campaigning to certain extent. And not to forget I,being a housewife,am also looking after my family and I ensure that he gets no hurdles and worries from the home front. Agreeing to the fact that election season disrupts the personal life and one gets to spend too little or no time with the family,she says,It certainly has an affect on our lives but in a positive sense. We all want his success so that he can fulfill his promises that he made to his voters. About her involvement in campaign,she says,I was against his political career,until,in the last election,he got around 60,000 votes and told me that there are 60,000 people,who have hopes from him and he cannot let them down.
Preeti Shirole
She would have loved to be with Ranjit Shirole on the field but for Preeti Shirole home demands more attention. All this while I have not managed to really campaign with him since I have to look after our five-month-old twins at home. I have hardly been with him a few times earlier. However,I plan to move out and accompany him during the last couple of days, says Shirole. Although enjoying the process,she prefers to be passively in the arena adding,Personally I would not be interested in politics. However it has been his ambition since childhood and I try my best to support him in all the endeavors. And while Preeti Shirole monitors the leader from home her major concern is not so political,The only thing I am concerned about the most is that he should manage to have his meals regularly since that invariably takes a backseat during the campaigning, she adds.
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