Govinda returns to politics after 14 years, joins Shiv Sena's Shinde faction ahead of polls
The actor had contested as Congress candidate and handed a shock defeat to BJP veteran Ram Naik in the Mumbai North LS seat in 2004
Bollywood actor Govinda on Thursday (March 28) joined the Shiv Sena (Shinde) in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, fuelling speculations that the party may field him from the Mumbai North West constituency in the upcoming general elections.
Addressing the media after joining the party, Govinda said, “I was in politics from 2004 to 2009 in the 14th Lok Sabha. It is an amazing coincidence that I have returned to politics after a gap of 14 years.”
Earlier in the day, Shinde’s aide Krishna Hegde also met Govinda at his Juhu residence on Thursday. It seems the chief minister’s game plan is to pit the actor against Amol Kirtikar who has been fielded by Shiv Sena (UBT). Amol is the son of the sitting Shinde camp MP Gajanan Kirtikar. However, his father is not keen on contesting the poll since it would have pitted him against his son. In the absence of a candidate of stature to defeat Amol, Shinde is toying with the idea of asking Govinda to jump into the poll fray.
Speculation surrounding Govinda’s return to politics gained traction after a recent meeting between the actor and Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde, as reported by PTI.
Notably, Govinda is no stranger to political arena. He had emerged as a giant killer in 2004 when he contested as the Congress candidate and handed a shock defeat to sitting MP and BJP veteran Ram Naik in the Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat. However, Govinda drew flak for his continued absence from the Parliament and later parted ways with the Congress. He decided not to contest elections in 2009 Lok Sabha polls.