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From Box Office To Ballot Box: A Patchy Record For Film Stars In Election 2019 

It was a mixed bag for film stars in the Lok Sabha election.

Congress candidate from Patna Sahib Shatrughan Sinha addresses a press conference after losing to BJPs Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Lok Sabha elections, in Patna. (Photo: PTI)
Congress candidate from Patna Sahib Shatrughan Sinha addresses a press conference after losing to BJPs Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Lok Sabha elections, in Patna. (Photo: PTI)

Movie stars like NT Rama Rao and MG Ramachandran made a habit out of winning elections by a landslide without batting an eyelid in the 70s and 80s. Not anymore.

Silver screen stars who participated in the 2019 general election have a patchy record. While actors like Hans Raj Hans (North-West Delhi), Mimi Chakraborty (Jadavpur) and Nusrat Jahan (Basirhat) won by huge margin, Shatrughan Sinha and Jaya Prada—both actor-turned-politicians who contested from Patna Sahib and Rampur constituencies, respectively—bit the dust.

Newly-elected TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty in Kolkata. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
Newly-elected TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty in Kolkata. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)

The tale of electoral fortunes was also a study in contrast. It was a forgettable debut for Congress’ Urmila Matondkar (Mumbai North), Prakash Raj, who contested as an independent in Bangalore Central, and Bhojpuri superstar Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua, who lost to former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Azamgarh.

However, the Bengali actors Chakraborty and Jahan, who entered the political fray for the first time, tasted success while contesting on Trinamool Congress tickets.