Be it a bypoll or a parliamentary election, the hustings are usually dizzying affairs as Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule discovered much to her discomfiture.
On Tuesday, the 45-year-old MP from Baramati fainted during an election rally in Western Maharashtra’s Sangli district, causing consternation and sparking concern among those present.
Ms. Sule, campaigning for Suman Patil, the widow of former Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil, ostensibly collapsed of exhaustion during the peroration of her speech.
However, she quickly rallied and after a brief interlude told her supporters and party workers that she was feeling all right.
Ms. Patil is contesting from Tasgaon Assembly segment in Sangli district, her late husband’s stronghold. The bypoll is due on April 11.
No other party has fielded candidates against Ms. Patil as a mark of respect for R.R. Patil, who passed away in February this year.
