Madhuri to be BJP Pune candidate?

Mumbai: There is buzz that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is considering fielding Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit Nene from the Pune Lok Sabha constituency for the general elections. The party has reportedly done an internal survey related to candidates for various seats. In that survey, Ms Dixit Nene’s name has received the highest response in the Pune Lok Sabha constituency, which is an entirely urban seat.

The BJP is considering not repeating some Members of Parliament in the current election considering their poor performance as MPs and with regards to the party’s organizational work. One such parliamentarian is Anil Shirole, an incumbent MP from Pune. So, the party is considering a few names for his seat.

Ms Dixit Nene, a Bollywood legend, is famous in Maharashtra and a source of Marathi pride. Her name was included as a possible BJP candidate for the Pune seat. Sources said that Ms Dixit Nene has received a tremendous response from women of all age groups as well as young voters.

BJP national president Amit Shah had recently paid the actor a visit at her home during his Jan Sampark Abhiyan. Mr Shah had presented her with a booklet on the accomplishments of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre in the past four years. “At the time, talks about politics were not held between Madhuriji and Amit Shah ji. But, afterwards, we tried to gauge her interest in entering politics. As of now, nobody is in a position to say anything concrete about it,” said a senior leader privy to the development.

Ms Dixit Nene (51), who was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, in 2008, has received critical acclaim for her acting and dancing skills.

Her highly successful films include Tejab, Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dil To Pagal Hai, Saajan and Devdas. Her recent Marathi film Bucket List, which was shot in Pune city, has been appreciated by the masses.