Former MLA Rakesh Kalia returns to Congress after a brief stint in BJP
He joined the BJP in 2022 after being denied a Congress ticket to contest the Assembly elections from Gagret in Himachal Pradesh.
Amid speculations, Bollywood actor Urmila Matondkar on Wednesday joined the Congress after meeting party chief Rahul Gandhi at his residence.
Gandhi welcomed her in the party fold and wished her the best.
Later, at a press conference, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the actor will contribute to spreading the Congress ideology and strengthening the party.
“I am here because I believe in the ideology of Congress and what the party stands for. I have not joined the party for the sake of elections,” she told reporters.
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“I am taking my first step in active politics. I am from a family that has shaped my political views based on the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel. It is another matter that despite being from an academics-oriented family, I joined films. But I had social awareness right from childhood,” said the actor.
Speculations are rife that the actor may contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai North constituency.
If nominated from Mumbai North, Urmila Matondkar will face BJP lawmaker Gopal Shetty in the constituency that is seen to be a stronghold of the BJP. Gopal Shetty had defeated Sanjay Nirupam in 2014.
Married to Kashmiri actor-model-businessman Mohsin Akhtar Mir, Matondkar will be the second Bollywood actor to contest from Mumbai North if nominated.
Matondkar, who has several hit Hindi films to her name, has also acted in Marathi and South Indian films and even television serials and was last seen in Abhinay Deo’s 2018 film Blackmail. She also produced a Marathi film, Madhuri, in 2018 along with husband Mir.
The six Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai will go to polls on 29 April along with 17 others in the state in its fourth phase of the elections.
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