Mathura: Hema Malini, veteran actor and Lok Sabha MP from Mathura-Vrindavan, assured her supporters that there was no question of her shifting to neighbouring Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha constituency to make way for Sri Kant Sharma, Energy Minister in the UP government.
Sources said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) core group has all but decided to replace sitting MP Chaudhary Babu Lal with Hema Malini in Fatehpur Sikri, a Jaat stronghold.
According to sources, party leaders believe the seat could be a walk over for Hema Malini if her husband, actor Dharmendra (also a Jaat), campaigns for her. But Hema Malini has shown no interest in the proposal. She has clarified on several occasions that her prime inspiration in Mathura is her devotion to the land’s deities, Krishna and Radha.
Her supporters claim the actor has done a lot of work in the constituency and several mega projects are still in the works. If she shifted out of the constituency, those projects would get neglected, they say. In the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, Mathura seat has gone to the Rashtriya Lok Dal, which is likely to field Jayant Choudhary who lost to Hema Malini the last time. Another name doing rounds is senior journalist Vineet Narain.
