The biggest elections in the world attract the biggest names to the Capital. Some contest the elections, others merely chip in as guest speakers, seeking votes for the candidates in the fray. All are welcome. Who doesn’t like some star dust? This time, the aam aadmi has got to see Manoj Tiwari, the Amitabh Bachchan of Bhojpuri cinema on the streets, seeking votes as a BJP candidate. And trying to evoke nostalgia has been Biswajit, the yesteryear popular hero who now ploughs a lonely furrow as a TMC candidate from New Delhi bringing to mind his own song, “Lakhon hain yahan dilwale aur pyar nahin milta, aakhon mein kisiki wafa ka iqraar nahin milta”.
The spectacle has been better in the past with the first superstar of Hindi cinema, Rajesh Khanna, coming down to contest as a Congress candidate. Then he came to campaign for the party in the next round. Both times he attracted huge crowds, proving in the bargain that stardom cuts across all barriers. Of course, the rally turn-out did not necessarily transform into votes.
If Rajesh Khanna had mixed luck at the hustings, Arun Govil, the superstar of the idiot box in the ‘80s, too had sought to cash in on his success as the small screen’s Lord Ram. Interestingly, other stars of the two mythologicals on television, Deepika and Nitish Bhardwaj too had tried their luck in the elections elsewhere in the country. Back in Delhi, Smriti Irani, the much-loved Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thhi, made an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Lok Sabha from Chandni Chowk.
Then of course, the likes of Dipti Bhatnagar, Pooja Batra, Raveena Tandon, have at various times lent their star presence to Delhi’s political firmament. Will the denizens see some more starlets at this year’s Lok Sabha elections? The voting day is still a week away. There is hope yet.
