Jitendra spoke little

After Pathak hurriedly wound up his usual poll-time speech, Jitendra (fondly known as Jitubhai) rose to speak. “Hinduon ko mera namashkar, Musalmano ko mera salaam (My greetings to Hindus and Muslims),” he said, amid loud applause from the crowd which had been bored no end by the drab speeches of local leaders.

“I am not a good orator. Though giving speeches is a widespread disease these days,” he said drawing laughter from the crowd. “People just stick to the mike and keep speaking while the listeners doze off.” Though the words would have offended politicians on he dais, Jitubhai quickly rained praises on Pathak and compared him with none less than Atal Behari Vajpayee. “He is Chhote Atalji. He speaks like Atalji. He speaks from the heart,” Jitendra said. And then he asked he crowd to respond to his “Jitega Bhai Jitega” with “Harinbhai Jitega”.

He then implored the crowd to send Pathak to the Lok Sabha with a massive margin. “He (Pathak), has been winning since 1989. There was no need for me to come here. I came here because of your love. But there is no point if he wins just by 1.5 lakh votes. Make him victorious with three to four lakh more votes than his opponent. It is a question of your honour,” he said.

And he promised to bring other Bollywood stars here if Pathak won with a landslide margin.

Today, Jitendra also addressed public meetings at Bavla, Detroj and Viramgam towns in Ahmedabad district.