New Delhi (PTI): Actor-turned-politician Hema Malini will not contest the coming Lok Sabha elections but will campaign for the BJP, party President Rajnath Singh said on Saturday. "We wanted Hema Malini to contest the Lok Sabha elections and even asked her for her opinion on the issue. After deliberating, she told me that she would like to campaign for the BJP but was not keen on contesting," Mr. Singh told reporters here.
Mrs. Malini is a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha where her tenure expires in September, 2010. Mr. Rajnath Singh's remarks came against the backdrop of reports that the BJP could field the "dream-girl" from New Delhi constituency.
With her being ruled out, the propsects of Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra or General Secretary Vijay Goel getting BJP ticket for New Delhi constituency may have brightened, party sources said.
The yesteryears filmstar has been a big crowd-puller for the BJP in assembly elections held last year in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The BJP is also not likely to field Mrs. Malini's husband and actor Dharmendra who is a sitting Lok Sabha MP from Bikaner. The constituency has been reserved post-delimitation.
Another matinee idol and sitting BJP MP Vinod Khanna has been given party ticket from Gurdaspur in Punjab. Film-star Shatrughan Sinha is likely to contest from Patnasaheb in Bihar.
No comments:
Post a Comment