Delhi's fat dog election is over. Here's the winner
Delhi’s most paw-litical election has come to an end, with the late Gola, aka Rajpal Singh, winning the coveted Fat Dog of Delhi title. Hailing from SDA, Hauz Khas, the adorable neighbourhood dog beat Googoo of Saket and 62 other chonkies to clinch the much-talked-about title.
Gola won with a margin of 39,904 votes over his closest opponent, Googoo. In all, 94,000 votes were cast in the Grand Finale, with 92,958 votes submitted online and another 1,042 votes cast across four physical polling booths set up in Delhi.
The beloved community dog, a familiar face at SDA Market, Gola had passed away unexpectedly while the tournament was underway. Despite her untimely passing, Gola went on to win the hearts — and votes — of Delhi’s dog-loving internet. Meet the winner.
Dog lovers cast their votes online through the contest’s Instagram handle, while the organisers also took things offline with four polling booths set up across the capital. The unusual election became a full-blown spectacle, with Delhiites of all ages turning up at the booths to cast their vote and crown their favourite fat dog.
The trend had humble beginnings. It all started when a Delhi University student (who wishes to remain anonymous) created an Instagram page to post photos of overweight dogs she spotted around the city. Soon, people began sending in their own submissions, complete with names and localities. Two weeks ago, she turned the page into a contest - and what started as a random Instagram account quickly snowballed into an internet phenomenon.
Fat Dogs of Delhi amassed nearly a lakh followers, with neighbourhood loyalties, campaign posters, fan clubs and even brands joining the frenzy.
Mahakutteshwar, Chonki, Gajinder and Kutta Singh were among the doggos who vied for the coveted title.
Over the past two weeks, photos and videos of Delhi’s most delightfully chonky dogs went viral, with fans creating dedicated pages, running campaigns and rallying behind their local favourites. The city found something wonderfully silly to obsess over: neighbourhood dogs with names, personalities and surprisingly devoted voter bases.
Amid all the fun, concerns around the dogs’ health also came up. Many dog lovers called the contest “insensitive”, saying it glorified obesity and brushed aside possible health issues just for entertainment.
Ironically, Googoo, the runner-up, has also been on a weight-management diet at an animal care centre for the past few days.
But supporters of the contest felt the attention could also work in favour of street and community dogs. They argued that the viral trend was making these dogs more visible, helping people see them as part of their neighbourhoods and, perhaps, making more people care about their well-being.
The DU student behind the now-viral Instagram handle ‘Fat Dogs of Delhi’ has also used its growing reach to share adoption appeals and raise funds for NGOs and independent groups working for street animal welfare.- Ends
