Do Indian Celebs Join Politics Once Their Career Is Doomed?
The unsettling truth behind the glamorous world.
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens you can bet it was planned to happen that way.”
-Franklin D Roosevelt
In Indian politics, it is very common to see actors, actresses, singers and other associates from the celebrity clan join politics and take the advantage of their fan following to get a strong foothold in politics.
Most of the time when celebrities join politics it’s like their journey of post-retirement exploration. The political parties also welcome them wholeheartedly as they are famous and popular among common people. This helps political parties to win more support. Some of the celebrities recently joined politics like Dalip Singh Rana popularly known as The Great Khali and a well-known WWE wrestler who represented India on the International platform for more than one and half decades joined Bhartiya Janata Party on February 10, just ahead of Punjab Assembly Elections 2022. Coincidence much?
It is also common in Indian politics to see Bollywood celebrities joining politics as a second option because of their not so successful career in the entertainment industry.
For example, Rakhi Sawant was part of some low budget films but did not find any movie which would have kicked off her career in Industry. After which in 2014 she entered politics and made her independent political party named the Rashtriya Aam Party and contested Lok Sabha elections 2014 but her party faced brutal defeat leading to dump that party and then join the Republic Party of India.
Bollywood celebrities also try their luck in politics as they establish a bond with the public which politicians strongly try to gain. Furthermore, Luv Sinha after a short-lived career in the film industry also made his debut in politics and contested the 2020 Legislative Assembly election in Bihar on the ticket of the Indian National Congress but lost against Nitin Nabin from BJP. Although Luv Sinha’s father Shatrughan Sinha and mother Poonam Sinha is doing quite well in politics.
In addition to this, not all Bollywood celebrities join politics due to their failed career but some also join politics even after huge success in the industry and winning the support of the public. Such as Hema Malini, joined politics after a successful career in Bollywood, she was called ‘Dream Girl’ back in the 90s. After joining politics in 2014 she defeated her opponent, Jayant Chaudhary from Mathura in Lok Sabha general elections.
Manoj Tiwari has also won considerable support from the public and is serving as a member of parliament from North East Delhi.
The field of politics should be open for all and there should be no discrimination based on the background of the candidate moreover, celebrities joining politics should also make sure to get indulged in it seriously and positively. Politics should not be the part-time option or career to go for instead it should be a means of supporting and serving the public.
Many Bollywood celebrities jump into politics to gain fame and gather power which can be easily spotted by the public and sadly they fail to win public support. In conclusion to this, India has seen groups of fading celebrities in politics as Daler Mehndi, Hans Raj Hans, Sunny Deol. Also, celebrities doing well such as Hema Malini, Jaya Prada and there are many more to come in future. Some great leaders like NT Rama Rao and Jayalalitha are examples among those celebrities who did phenomenal work and reached a topmost position in their respective regional state politics.
In Indian politics, we can say that joining politics is also not always the decision of celebrities who joins and it could be a political strategy as well, especially during the elections. So let’s hope for some good governance from our elected leaders whether he/she is a common man or a popular figure.
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