Before election date announcement, several corporators invited celebs to public events

Banking on star power to woo the electorate in the run-up to the civic body elections in the city and Pimpri-Chinchwad, sitting corporators will now have to continue their canvassing without the celebrity oomph as the code of conduct kicked in yesterday.

Aba Bagul, a senior Congress leader and leader of opposition in the PMC, had roped in Sharmila Tagore and producer director Subhash Ghai for inauguration of a 4-D Theatre in PMC's Garden at Sahakarnagar in his ward three months ago. He also invited Dimple Kapadia for inauguration of the Butterfly Garden in the same area. "I called the film stars and film personalities because there was the inauguration of a cinema hall for the kids," he argued.u00a0

Shrirang Barne, a sitting corporator of the Shiv Sena, had called Isha Deol at Thergaon for a public show in his ward in the first week of December. "It was a cultural programme in my ward and there is nothing wrong to invite any celebrity," he said.u00a0Yogesh Behl, PCMC Myaor, had not only called the film stars but also acted in a Marathi film "Ashi Jhali Nanachi Taang" and attended a premier of his own film in Pimpri with the stars of film, Mohan Joshi and Reema Lagoo, in tow.u00a0

Bhausaheb Bhoir, a Congress corporator in Chinchwad, is also in close association with people from Marathi film industry. He has also produced a film "Goshta Saat Baryachi" two years ago.u00a0Bhoir had invited Pt Hridyanath Mangeshkar recently at Chinchwad to felicitate him for his achievements in the field of music. "I was the former president of Akhil Bharitya Natya Parishhad in Pimpri-Chinchwad. It was then I developed a good rapport with film personalities and singers," he said.u00a0

Shiv Sena corproator Pramod Kute from Dattawadi in Nigdi had called Sharvari Jamenis, whereas Kiran Waghire, a NCP corporator from Nehru Nagar in Pimpri had invited young singer Abhijeet Kosambi, the winneru00a0

of TV reality show 'Sa Re Gau00a0Ma Pa".u00a0

BJP's sitting corporator from Ward No 35 Karvenagar, Medha Kulkarni, had invited the well-known Smriti Irani of Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi fame to inaugurate a website listing achievements of Kurkarni.u00a0

As the code of conduct kicked in yesterday, the corporator had to organise the programme without Irani. Party workers, however, argued that Irani is a BJP MP and president of the Women Front of the party, so she could have legally inaugurated the website.u00a0

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