New Delhi: Superstar Rajnikanth on Monday announced the dissolution of his Rajini Makkal Mandram, thus backtracking on his decision to join politics citing a variety of reasons. He said he has ‘no plans to enter politics.’ While he does not fall into the category of actors who became ‘failed politicians’, one can say he ‘failed’ to join politics.
Many Bollywood stars have been lured into politics to cash in on their celluloid success for a thriving vote bank. For the stars, it means double the power. However, in many cases, stars who shone brightly on the big screen have not been able to replicate their success in politics.
The most iconic case, of course, is that of Amitabh Bachchan, whose political journey was nothing short of disastrous.
Amitabh Bachchan
He took a plunge in politics in 1984 to support his long-time friend Rajiv Gandhi. He contested for the 8th Lok Sabha from Allahabad’s seat and won by a great margin. However, he resigned after three years, following which he was implicated in the Bofors scandal. He was later found not guilty. Thereafter, he started supporting Samajwadi Party for his long-term friend Amar Singh but did not join it. His wife, Jaya Bachchan however, continues to be a member. Amitabh Bachchan has kept a safe distance from politics ever since and refrained from making any political comments.
Rajesh Khanna
The late superstar was a member of Parliament for the Indian National Congress, from the New Delhi constituency, where he won the 1992 by-election, retaining his seat until 1996 after which he gave up active politics.
Shatrughan Sinha
He was a Lok Sabha member from 2009 to 2014 and a Rajya Sabha member from 1996 to 2008 for two terms. He served as the minister for health and family welfare and shipping and later between 2014 and 2019 in the Vajpayee government, a member of the standing committee and consultative committee in the ministry of external affairs and overseas Indian affairs. He joined Congress after he was not given a seat after the 2019 elections by BJP.
Gul Panag
A certified pilot, actor, model, former beauty queen, half-marathon runner, biker and social activist, she was the AAP candidate from Chandigarh in 2014 for the general elections. However, she secured the third position and lost to Kirron Kher.
Shekhar Suman
He fought the Lok Sabha election in 2009 from Patna Sahib as a Congress candidate but lost to fellow actor Shatrughan Sinha who was contesting from the BJP. Later in 2012, he distanced himself from politics altogether.
Javed Jaffrey
The actor, who said that he had entered politics to “remove the shortcomings in the system prevailing in the country, contested the 2014 general election from the Lucknow constituency on an AAP ticket but lost to Rajnath Singh. He has not appeared on the political scene thereafter.
Govinda
Govinda became a Member of Parliament in 2004. He won the Mumbai North constituency on a Congress ticket defeating BJP’s Ram Naik. Govinda announced his decision to quit politics in 2008. It is said he realised that he had been fielded with the sole purpose of defeating Ram Naik and thereafter Congress had lost interest in him.
Mahesh Manjrekar
The actor/director joined Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, and contested the 2014 elections from the Mumbai North-West constituency. However, he lost to Shiv Sena’s Gajanan Kirtikar. He has since gone back to his first love – films.
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