For the first time, Bollywood has recommended a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. The Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA), which is the main organisation of the Hindi film industry, and the Indian Film & Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) which represents most of the directors of feature and TV films, have urged senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to field Ashoke Pandit from Mumbai north west constituency.
Pandit is a former senior vice-president of IMPPA who has been championing the cause of Bollywood for several years. He has also been in the forefront of the campaign to support Kashmiri Pandits, who were targeted by terrorists in Kashmir. Late in the evening, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees' Association also endorsed the request of the other two film bodies.
In the past, several film stars, including Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Jaya Bachhan, Hema Malini and others, have entered the political arena and won. But this is for the first time the entire film industry has rallied behind an aspirant and recommended his candidature for the upcoming LS polls. It is learnt that several Bollywood personalities have personally urged the BJP leadership to give ticket to Pandit.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has fielded Amol Kirtikar as its nominee in Mumbai north west. He is the son of the sitting M.P. Gajanan Kirtikar who is in the Shiv Sena led by CM Eknath Shinde. Kirtikar Sr is not keen on contesting this time since that would mean opposing his own son. The BJP is keen on fielding its candidate, but is unable to find a suitable one. If Pandit is given the ticket, the entire film industry is likely to join the campaign.
