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The actress has had more than one encounter of the close kind. Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
Actress Nagma is fighting on many fronts in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, it seems.
On one hand, the Congress nominee faces a stiff electoral challenge from the BJP, Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party, that demands she throw everything into her campaign.
On the other hand, she is also having issues with the town's 'touchy-feely' crowds, which is forcing her to be on guard continuously.
There have been many attempts made to hug, feel and grope Nagma on the campaign trail, as a consequence of which she is unable to mingle freely with the crowds.
First, a Congress MLA was seen to get uncomfortably close to her, which many thought was an attempt to kiss her.
Nagma denied it, but when a youth tried to get too close to her, she slapped him.
To avoid any encounters of the close kind, Nagma is staying at a hotel on the outskirts of Meerut town, in order to avoid onlookers. She uses a car with a sun roof during the campaign, a la Hema Malini in Mathura.
Following her travails, Congress Treasurer Motilal Vora has been calling up senior leaders with a "personal request" to campaign for her.
Within the Congress, Nagma is a popular figure, which is probably why Rahul Gandhi decided to give her an election ticket.
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