Star power for BJP in UP: Four actors in fray

Vibha Sharma

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 15

Among the seven candidates announced by the BJP today for the key state of Uttar Pradesh is the popular Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan, who has been fielded from the high-profile Gorakhpur constituency, which was considered a saffron bastion till the 2018 byelection.

Kishan, who joined the BJP in 2017 after contesting unsuccessfully on a Congress ticket in the 2014 General Election, is not alone from his fraternity to represent the saffron party in UP, that sends as many as 80 members to the Lok Sabha.

Banking majorly on the star power, the BJP has nominated its sitting MP Hema Malini from Mathura, former Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada from Rampur and popular Bhojpuri star Dinesh Lal Yadav aka ‘Nirahua’ from Azamgarh against none other than Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

In comparison, the Congress has just one actor, Raj Babbar, representing it in UP’s political theatre from Fatehpur Sikri.

Kishan (49) had contested from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh as a Congress candidate but secured just about 4 per cent votes. Today, while responding to SP leader Azam Khan’s controversial remark against his BJP colleague Jaya Prada, Kishan tweeted in his characteristic manner: “Aapki zamanat jabt hain itni buri tarah aap harogey ki pagla javogey phir kabhi kisi nari ka apmaan nahi kar pavogey.”

Apart from Bhojpuri and Hindi films, Kishan has acted in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films. He also participated in TV shows like ‘Bigg Boss’ and ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’. His last big appearance was in Anurag Kashyap’s critically acclaimed ‘Mukkabaz’.

Incidentally Kishan is the second Bhojpuri actor to be fielded by the BJP in eastern UP. ‘Nirahua’, another famous name from the Bhojpuri film industry, who was also seen on ‘Bigg Boss’ a couple of years back, joined the BJP as recently as in March and was straightaway fielded against former CM Akhilesh Yadav.