Pune: With the holy month of Shravan beginning on July 24, the pre-festival day known as Gatari was celebrated across Maharashtra — a day when most households indulge in non-vegetarian food. Taking advantage of the occasion, a couple in Pune distributed 5,000 kg of chicken for free under the banner of their ‘Dhananjay Jadhav Foundation’.
While the organisers claimed the initiative aimed to “empower the community,” locals are well aware that elections for the Pune Municipal Corporation are just around the corner, and this move was seen as a clever strategy to garner votes.
The distribution was carried out in Ward No. 1, covering areas like Dhanori, Bhairavnagar, Sadbanagar, Zakat Naka, and Munjabavsti. The couple — Dhananjay and Pooja Jadhav — contesting from this ward, had announced the distribution on Sunday.
Voters who are used to benefiting from schemes like free ration and free electricity, the lure of free chicken was too good to resist. Thousands queued up from early morning.
Initially, the process was organised — with registration and ID verification mandatory for receiving the chicken. But soon the crowd swelled beyond control. The system collapsed: no more registration, no more ID checks — everyone rushed for the free chicken.
Eventually, the Jadhav couple had to call it off. But the event created a buzz across the city — some calling it election marketing, and others seeing it as a popularity stunt.
