Chennai : Yesteryear Kollywood heartthrob Khusbhu Sundar on Wednesday turned a full circle in politics when she joined the Congress in the presence of Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.
Four years ago, after the Supreme Court quashed criminal cases registered against her in various courts in Tamil Nadu for endorsing premarital sex, Khushbu had first said that she would join the Congress. But two days later she ended up getting a membership card of the DMK, which was then the ruling party in the State.
However, in June this year she quit the DMK and stayed out of limelight for a while. Two days ago, a television channel ran a bulletin on its website saying the actress is set to join the BJP. But Khushbu was in a denial mode and insisted that she was not making a political re-entry. She in fact tweet-
ed: “Wow…Some prove 2 be Cong nets Kollywood heartthrob Khushbu
absolutely jobless and dumb yet again. I m not joining any political party…News making rounds are baseless…Please don’t pay heed.”
By joining the Congress on Wednesday Khusbhu once again proved that she could pull of spectacular surprises.
While Khusbhu deserves praise for displaying guts in joining a political party that is currently rudderless in the face of the rolling Modi juggernaut, for the Tamil Nadu Congress, her entry is a political coup of sorts.
The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) faced a major split earlier this month with former Union Minister G K Vasan breaking ranks. Interestingly, TNCC president EVKS Elangovan, who accompanied Khusbhu to 10 Janpath, had timed her entry to coincide with the day when Vasan unveiled his future unnamed party’s flag. Also she had joined the party two days ahead of the official launch of Vasan’s party in Tiruchy.
Though Khushbu will be the most recognisable film star in the Congress in Tamil Nadu, she is unlikely to be a major vote catcher. In fact, although she was a sincere worker in the DMK, turning up at every protest or meeting organised by the party, her role in capturing the imagination of the voters has been negligible. “She certainly had a curiosity value. But voters were never swayed by her,” said an observer.
Nonetheless, the Congress has certainly stolen the show from the Vasan camp for now.