Winsome, lose some
Sheetal
The results of 18th Lok Sabha elections were declared on Tuesday. Keeping aside who wins and makes the government, we look at how it was overall a good day for actors-turned-politicians.
Grand debut
It has been a while since Kangana Ranaut tasted success at the box-office, but in her political debut she won against the Congress candidate from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, Vikramaditya Singh. “Heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Mandi for this love and trust… This victory belongs to all of you, this is the victory of your trust in Prime Minister Modi and BJP, this is the victory of Sanatan and in the honour of Mandi,” she posted on X and Instagram. The actress on Tuesday morning also posted a heartwarming picture with her mother where she is donning a pink saree and the latter is offering her dahi cheeni, which is considered auspicious in Hindu culture before a big exam or result day!
Mandi is my janambhoomi. My victory is a slap on the face of those who tried to malign a woman by making derogatory remarks against me. — Kangana Ranaut
After the victory, Kangana shared with The Tribune, “I am not going anywhere as was said by Congress, as this (Mandi) is my janambhoomi. My victory is a slap on the face of those who tried to malign a woman by making derogatory remarks against me. I want to contribute as a dedicated soldier to PM Modi’s commitment to sabka saath, sabka vikas.”
Tough fight
In Punjab’s Faridkot, actor and AAP candidate Karamjit Anmol was running against singer-turned-politician Hans Raj Hans. While many thought it would be a neck- to-neck fight between these regional celebrities, independent candidate Sarabjit Singh Khalsa won from the Faridkot constituency. It was a big blow for seasoned politician Hans Raj Hans, but Karamjit Anmol put up a tough fight as a debutant politician.
Anmol, known for his coming timing, conceded defeat with grace. In a press conference, he said, “People are the heroes of this election and we respect the mandate they have given. I congratulate Sardar Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, as people have voted in favour of the leader. I hope he would work for the welfare of those who supported him. I am thankful to everyone who supported us and all the volunteers who made polling a peaceful affair in Faridkot. We will sit and introspect with the party members on where we fell behind. I am happy to be a candidate from a place that is named after Baba Farid himself. I will stay connected to this place.”
The 62-year-old Hans, on the other hand, is already an MP from North West Delhi. In the political arena for 15 years, during the 2024 Lok Sabha election he chose to run for an MP seat from his home state, Punjab, but lost badly. Perhaps, the voters didn’t want a candidate whose ideology did not stick to one party! For the unversed, Hans joined politics with Shiromani Akali Dal and for a brief period stayed with Congress, before shifting to BJP in 2016.
NCR scenario
When actor Raj Babbar’s name was announced as the Congress candidate from Gurugram at the last minute, many eyes rolled. The actor had faced defeat during the 2019 and met the same fate in 2024.
Despite BJP candidate Manoj Tiwari’s pre-poll fumble of giving an interview to a journalist that turned into a meme, it didn’t do much damage to his vote bank. Manoj managed a big win from North East Delhi against Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar.
Veterans fight
Ramayana-fame veteran actor Arun Govil registered a win from Meerut constituency in his debut political run, although a Dalit woman Samajwadi Party candidate put up a tough fight against him. All-India Trinamool Congress candidate from Asansol, West Bengal, was veteran actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha and he won against the BJP candidate. Sinha had won the 2022 Asansol bypoll following the resignation of Babul Supriyo, who served as a two-time MP before joining the TMC.
Lady luck
Veteran actress Hema Malini, at 75, who was seeking a third term in the Lok Sabha as a BJP candidate from Mathura, won by a margin of 2.7 lakh votes against Congress candidate Mukesh Dhangar.
On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and its women candidates put up a big fight in West Bengal. Trinamool divas — Rachna Banerjee, Sayani Ghosh, and June Maliah — all actress-turned-politicians — had taken handsome leads in Hooghly, Jadavpur, and Medinipur constituencies in West Bengal, respectively. Rachna, host of the popular television show Didi No. 1, later won against BJP’s actress-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee by a margin of 67,000 votes. Sayani in Jadavpur was ahead by 2.5 lakh votes by Tuesday evening.
Only Smriti Irani, BJP candidate and Union Minister from Amethi, another actress-turned-politician, lost by a huge margin.
Bollywood report card
Smriti Irani Amethi, Uttar Pradesh
Lost by 1, 67, 196 lakh votes to Congress candidate Kishori Lal
Shatrughan Sinha Asansol (actor)
Won by 59,564 votes against BJP candidate Surendrajeet Singh Ahluwalia
Ravi Kishan Gorakhpur (actor)
Won by 1, 03, 526 votes against Samajwadi Party candidate Kajal Nishad
Suresh Gopi Thrissur (Malayalam actor)
Won by 74,686 votes against CPI candidate Sunil Kumar.
— With inputs from Agencies
