Bollywood Stars, South Indian Actors Grab a Dozen Seats in Indian Parliament
A galaxy of film stars have emerged victors, and some as losers, in the recently concluded general election in India.
The election resulted in a coalition led by incumbent Prime Minister’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as victor, albeit with a reduced majority. An Indian National Congress-led alliance was the second largest political bloc.
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Several of the victors contested on the BJP ticket. Outspoken Bollywood A-lister Kangana Ranaut (“Tejas”) became a first-time member of parliament, contesting from her hometown Mandi. Hema Malini (“Shimla Mirchi”), known to her fans as “Dream Girl,” won the Mathura constituency for the third time.
The BJP is a Hindu nationalist party. Arun Govil, best known for playing Hindu God Rama in long-running series “Ramayana,” won from the Meerut constituency. Earlier this year, Govil played an Indian Prime Minister clearly based on Modi in box office hit “Article 370.”
Manoj Tiwari, superstar of Bhojpuri-language cinema, won the Northeast Delhi seat for the third time. Another star of Bhojpuri and Hindi-language cinema, Ravi Kishan (Toronto title “Laapataa Ladies”) retained his Gorakhpur seat.
The BJP had a maiden victory in the southern Indian state of Kerala thanks to Suresh Gopi (“Garudan”), who won the Thrissur constituency. In the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu-language cinema star Pawan Kalyan (“Bro”) of BJP ally Jana Sena Party won the Pithapuram seat.
The highest concentration of stars among other parties is in the opposition Trinamool Congress, based in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. Trinamool’s Dev Adhikari (“Bagha Jatin”) won the Ghatal constituency for the third time, seeing off a challenge from fellow actor, the BJP’s Hiran Chatterjee (“Thai Curry”). The BJP’s Locket Chatterjee (“Gohin Hridoy”) lost her Hooghly seat to Trinamool’s Rachana Banerjee (“Boudi.com”).
Also for Trinamool, Bollywood veteran Shatrughan Sinha (“Do Chehre”) retained his Asansol seat; June Malia (“Dasham Avatar”) won Medinipur; and Satabdi Roy (“Bizli”) won Birbhum for the fourth time.
Bollywood star and the Indian National Congress’ Raj Babbar (“Ek Kori Prem Katha”) lost the Gurgaon constituency to BJP candidate Rao Inderjit Singh. In Azamgarh, the BJP’s Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua (“Fasal”) lost to the Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav.
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