Political parties have always harnessed celebrity power on the election trail. Now that election season is around the corner, here is a list of the actors who have taken the political plunge.
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Jaya Prada
Jaya Prada, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on March 26, has been fielded from Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur Lok Sabha seat. She is pitted against Samajwadi Party’s Azam Khan. Jaya Prada had represented Rampur twice in the Lok Sabha – in 2004 and 2009 – as a member of the Akhilesh Yadav’s party.
The actor entered politics more than two decades ago and the 25 years of her political journey has been on a roller coaster ride ever since.
Urmila Matondkar
Ending all speculation, famed Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar joined the Congress in the national capital on March 27, 2019. Urmila Matondkar will contest the national election as the Congress candidate from the Mumbai North constituency.
Urmila Matondkar will face BJP’s Gokulnath Shetty in Mumbai North seat
Shatrughan Sinha
Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who has been associated with BJP for about three decades, joined Congress at New Delhi on March 28. He will contest the national election as the Congress candidate from Patna Sahib constituency
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the BJP’s face from Patna Sahib, the constituency of actor-turned-rebel leader Shatrughan Sinha.
Smriti Irani
Several parliamentary constituencies are set to witness high-profile contest this election with the BJP announcing its first list of candidates and fielding Union minister Smriti Irani against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
Irani had lost to Gandhi in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but was seen to have put up a spirited fight.
Nusrat Jahan-
Tollywood actor Nusrat Jahan is among the famous personalities who will contest the Lok Sabha election on TMC tickets. She has been nominated for an important seat — Basirhat.
An actress and model, she will contest elections for the first time in 2019. Nusrat made her screen debut with Raj Chakroborty’s Shotru and later appeared in Khoka 420.
Mimi Chakraborty
This year, TMC in West Bengal has nominated Bengali actor Mimi Chakraborty from the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat. Mamata has brought in a change by dropping sitting MP Sugata Bose, a Harvard professor who became unpopular after some of his critical statements about the politicisation of educational institutions, in favour of actress Mimi Chakrabarty, another political greenhorn with a substantial fan following.
Active in Bengali cinema since 2008, Mimi was born in Jalpaiguri after spending her childhood in Arunachal Pradesh. After a brief stint in modelling, her acting career began in earnest in 2008.
Prakash Raj: Actor-turned-politician Prakash Raj will contest the 2019 general elections from Bengaluru Central as an independent candidate.
Prakash Raj was on his first visit to meet residents in the busy, central area in Bengaluru after announcing his decision to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate.